His Point of View: Owen
by audr3y
Summary: Owen has all but given up hope on ever getting married. He has all he needs and a woman just doesn't seem to be a good idea. Even if it did, it isn't like there are a whole lot of prospects. If any. So you can imagine his delight when a shy young farmer shows up out of nowhere and turns his life upside down. I Want To Protect You from Owen's perspective. Will change to M later.
1. Babies

**A/N: Hey so it's been a while! I actually got this idea from a guest user who commented on Fitting In, they requested I rewrite the story from Shea's point of view. Once I read it, i knew I had another project! So I'm rewriting all my Harvest Moon stories from the guys' points of view, I'm really excited about this! Any ideas, comments or concerns, don't hesitated to let me know! Enjoy!**

The winter had been a long and cold one. I wasn't the only on one Waffle Island relieved to see the snow finally start to melt and the temperature slowly start to rise. Not only had the extended winter meant extended cold, I could care less about that. It also meant that I had to get up earlier every morning to get the forges hot enough for the day's work. It was never cold at the blacksmith's. In fact, it was really quite the opposite. But the arrival of Spring meant I could get a decent night's sleep before putting in a gruelling day of work.

Well, Spring wasn't here yet, but it was definitely on it's way. I prayed to the Harvest Goddess that we wouldn't have another blizzard. The New Year was only a couple days away and, as always, I was excited to see what it would bring with it.

"Owen! Come play with me!" I was shaken from my thoughts when my small cousin latched on to my leg. I laughed out loud.

"It's way too early for playtime, Chloe!" I looked at the clock. I was only 11:00. "I still have a lot of work to do!"

"Poo! You always have work to do!" She stuck her tongue out at me.

"That's part of being a grown-up." I smiled down at her, making no real-life to pry her off. If she wanted to cling, I didn't mind. "We can play for a bit at lunch."

The cheeky monkey. She knew my schedule better than anyone yet she still tried to convince me to play when I had to work. She also knew that it wasn't very difficult to distract me from working. This wasn't the first time she clung to my leg as I went about work.

"When are you going to get married, Owen?" Chloe asked after a half our of content silence. Surprisingly, this was not the first time had asked me this particular question. Ever since Anissa and Jin had their baby last Spring, Chloe had been convinced that a baby would be the ultimate playmate. Well, when I wasn't busy that is. Since then, she had been pestering me to get married and have my own babies so she could play with them. I laughed laughed I answered.

"Not any time soon, kiddo. Sorry."

"You always say that!" She accused me.

"That's because it's always the truth!" I retorted with a grin.

"When?" She asked.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I don't want to marry anyone right now."

"Why not?" She argued. I had to try so hard to keep a straight face. I put the hammer that I had been holding down and got down on my knees to her level.

"Because getting married is a big step! First, you have to meet someone that you really really like, then you have to ask them if they want to date you, and if they say yes then you start dating. And if you still really really like each other, you'll fall in love and then you have to find a blue feather and ask them to marry you. And they have to say yes, otherwise you can't get married." I winked at her at the last bit.

"Who do you really really like?" Chloe asked without missing a beat.

"You, silly!" I reached a hand towards her and tickled her belly. She collapsed in a fit of giggles.

"But you can't marry me! You have to marry someone else!" She pointed an accusing finger at me.

"Well then, you'll just have to patient. Because that won't be happening any time soon." I grinned and stood back up to resume my work.

To be honest, my love life, or lack thereof, wasn't something that bothered me as much as it probably should. Most of the other residents of Waffle Island had paired up. Jin with Anissa, Toby and Renee, Julius and Candace, my best friend Luke had expressed an interest in Kathy but hadn't done anything yet, you had to be blind to miss what was going on between Gill and Luna, which left Bo and Selena.

I should be worried. There weren't any other young women on the island. No one new had come in years, most of us had been born and raised here. I knew there wasn't much hope for me getting married, ever even. But this didn't bother me. Some people aren't meant to be married, and that's okay. I was perfectly content to keep doing what I've been doing for years: working the smith with my uncle and cousin. It's all I've needed so far, and I've been perfectly fine. If anything, a girlfriend would just complicate things. And I don't like complicated. But I wasn't going to be the one to tell Chloe that. She would grow out of it.

I was content. The winter was finally drawing to a close, my cousin was busy chattering away about I don't even know what, I had a steady job, I lived comfortably, what more could I need?

"Hey Owen!" The door burst open with an icy blast of wind. "Did you hear the news?"

It was Luke. I hadn't expected to see him here at this hour, didn't he have his own work to do?

"What news? Is everything okay?" I put down the hammer again.

"We're getting a new farmer!" He pumped his fist in the air.

"A new farmer? Really?" I was shocked. It had been so long since anyone new came to town, let alone one who decided to move here. "When?"

"Right after New Year's, the mayor just asked Dad, Bo and I to go down to the old farm and fix the place up for her."

"Her?" Now I was even more surprised. Luke laughed.

"Yeah, her! It's a girl!" Luke replied. "Well, I gotta go! Just wanted to tell you before we got started!"

He bounded back out into the cold without another word. I mechanically turned back to the forges, trying to process the new information.

A woman was moving to town. A farmer. That had to mean she had a family, what kind of person moves on their own the the middle of nowhere to start a farm? But then why hadn't Luke mentioned a family? He just mentioned the girl. Why was I even getting all riled up about this? I was just a girl, here to farm the land. Didn't really concern me at all.

Even if it turned out she wasn't married.


	2. New Year

he New Year's festival came without another snowstorm, and for that, everyone was grateful. It was a good night of celebrating the end of another year and anticipating the unknown of the coming one. I even won the mining contest. Well, I usually won the mining contest, but I was always surprised

every year.

It was no surprise at all though that the big topic on everyone's mind was the new rancher who was scheduled to get here the next day.

"I hear she's an orphan, coming here for a new start!" Kathy was saying to Luke and I.

"I hope not, that's a really sad reason to move!" I replied. The truth was, no one really knew much about the new rancher. Not even her name. The mayor apparently knew a bit, but he refused to tell anyone, kept saying it was going to be a surprise.

"I hope she's nice!" Chloe piped up.

"Well, there's no reason for her not to be." Luke answered. "Ranchers are usually really nice people, I mean look at the other ranchers on this island."

Needless to say, I don't think I was the only one who was a bit nervous about meeting the new rancher. People wanted to impress her, but didn't really seem to know how given that we didn't know much, if anything about her. Everyone had high hopes for the coming year. A new rancher not only meant acquiring a new resident, it also meant more prosperity for the island. Maybe this was a start of something brand new the the island.

We rang in the new year full of hope and anticipation for what it would bring.

The next day was technically a holiday, but the mayor had wanted us to 'look lively' for when the rancher got here. There wasn't really a whole lot to do around the shop, but I kept busy. For whatever reason, Chloe was nowhere to be found. I sincerely hoped she wasn't spying on the new rancher. It was almost time for lunch.

I had vowed vowed myself that I would leave the rancher alone to settle in. She probably had enough to deal with moving in and working the ranch, plus knowing the other villagers, I knew everyone would want was piece of her. So I would leave her alone. I'd go over and introduce myself once she'd settled in.

Luke hadn't stopped by either. I wondered what he was up to. He'd said he would come over at sone point during the morning to give me an excuse to slack off. So much for that.

It was at that moment that I felt a cool breeze behind me and realized someone had come in. I turned, ready to ask Luke what had taken him so long when I stopped abruptly. That wasn't Luke. This was a girl. One that I had never seen before, had to be the new rancher.

"Hi, I'm Owen." I smiled as I wiped the dripping sweat from my forehead. I noticed the soot caked on my hands and cursed myself internally. "I would shake your hand but..." I waved my hands somewhat lamely, indicating to her how dirty they were.

Man, she was pretty. Dark curls hid her right eye, but left the other one exposed. She had the prettiest blue eyes I had ever seen, not light blue like some of the other villagers, but a darker blue, the colour of the ocean just after sunset. She was tiny! At least a head taller than me and slender, not much muscle or anything else to her. How on earth was she going to run a ranch? Maybe there was more to her than meets the eye. Her left eye was so captivating, it had a sort of haunted look to it and I had to resist the urge to brush the hair behind her ear so I could look into both of her eyes.

Something about this girl intrigued me, and I had no idea what. All I knew was that I wanted to wrap my arms around her and keep her safe. Wrap my arms around her? I chastised myself, I didn't even know this girl's name! Why was I feeling this way? I've never felt this way about any other girl before.

Oh goddess, now I'm staring. If she didn't think I was an idiot before with the sooty hands business, she definitely did now.

"Hi, I'm Ariadne." She replied with a small smile.

"You're the new rancher, aren't you?" I asked, regretting the words as soon as they were out. Of course she was the new rancher. Who else could she be? But she nodded anyway and I went on. "When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago." She replied and averted her gaze. I had to chuckle, she had a new ranch to settle into and here she was, out exploring her new village. Play first, work later. I wished I could live like that. She looked back up and I had to concentrate hard to carry on the conversation.

"What are you doing here then?" I asked.

"I wanted to explore. I couldn't get started on work yet." She answered softly. The heat of the room seemed to be catching up with her, I noticed her face start to flush.

"I can see where you're coming from. Adventure first, work later. That's how I roll. You're lucky to be your own boss. You can take off whenever." I said.

"Well, maybe I should go and start clearing my land…" She shrugged. All of a sudden, I didn't want her to go. Bad things would happen if she left me! I didn't know what bad things, but they would happen. Wait a minute, why was I acting this way? I never acted like this. The heat had to be getting to me. It never had before, but it was the only thing that coukd explain what was happening to me.

"Okay, but feel free to ask questions if you have any. I'm an expert on the mines." I made a last ditch effort to get her to stay. I don't really know why I added the last bit, maybe I just wanted to impress her.

"Thanks." She said then turned around walked back outside.

I picked up the hammer again, eager to work out whatever was going on with me, when Grandpa emerged from a corner. I hadn't even known he was there. How long had he been there? He was chuckling to himself.

"I was wondering when it would happen." He told me, clapping a hand to my shoulder.

"When what would happen?" I put the hammer back down. What was he talking about?

"Don't try to deny it, you're twitterpated! Any fool could see that!" He explained.

"Twitterpated..." I felt my cheeks go dark, "I'm not twitterpated Grandpa! I don't even know her!"

"You don't have to," he replied. "One look is all it takes, that how ot was for your grandma and me. Wait till I tell Dale! He's gonna love this!"

At that, he walked away, leaving me completely and utterly confused.


	3. Twitterpated

To my utter embarrassment, Gramps told Dale. Who told Luke. The last thing I needed was people teasing me about a girl I barely knew before I had even sorted out how I felt about her, but that seemed to be exactly what I was getting.

"She's cute, eh?" Luke nudged me as we sat in the bar the next evening. "I made she to point her in your direction."

"What do you mean?" I looked up at him over my drink. He already had several empty glasses beside him, it wasn't like him to drink this much. But then again, Kathy was waiting tables, and he was always nervous when Kathy was around. He had to be more careful, he was starting to slur.

"C'mon, Owen!" He grinned. "It's no secret you're the odd one out on the island, everyone's got someone but you, it's only fair you get first dibs."

"First dibs? She's a human being, let her choose for herself! Besides, we don't even know if she's looking for a boyfriend, she may even have one back on the mainland. And she's just starting the ranch, she probably doesn't have time for that sort of thing."

"Well, she certainly has time to come hang out at the bar." Luke took a sip of his beer.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Turn around, son." Ramsey gestured behind me. I turned.

Crap! How long had she been sitting there? Long enough, it seemed her plate was practically empty and her beer was mostly gone. I was glad she was facing the opposite direction, I didn't want her to think I was even more of a fool and get caught looking.

"How long has she been there?" I asked frantically. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. My unease must have shown on my face before Luke started laughing.

"Half an hour, maybe." He shrugged.

"Well, should I go over? Should I say hi?" She was sitting there all alone, though when I turned to look again, Kathy had joined her and was sitting down opposite her. She cocked an eyebrow when she caught me looking and I quickly turned back to face Luke and Gramps.

Then I heard the most beautiful sound. She laughed. I had no doubt it was her even though I wasn't looking. Light and almost musical, my stomach fluttered and my heart quickened its pounding.

"Hey!" Luke's voice brought me back to reality. "She can laugh!"

"Luke..." Kathy warned.

I was temporarily struck dumb. I wanted to intervene, looking into Ariadne's eyes and seeing the fear and hurt made me want to do something, anything, to make it go away, but I couldn't seem to find my voice.

"No seriously, the first time I met her… I didn't think she even had a sense of humour!" Luke went on.

She brought a hand up to her face, embarrassed, as anyone should be. No one deserved to be made fun of, especially her, she had barely been here a day!

"Luke, you're drunk," Thank the Harvest Goddess, I found my voice. "I think that's enough."

"No wait, I just want to…" Luke slurred, I grabbed his arm and stood.

"C'mon, I'll take you home." I had to drag him to his feet and steer him out of the bar. Diffuse the situation. I was mortified. I avoided Ariadne's gaze on the way out, I didn't think I could handle seeing that hurt there again. Kathy was still with her, Kathy would know what to do. Goddess knows I'm useless in situations like this. I was just crowd control.

I breathed a sigh of relief once we were outside. I told Luke to take a few deep breaths before we continued when all I really wanted to do was punch him in the face.

"Dude! Why would you say something like that?" I growled.

"Whoa, look who's getting defensive." Luke replied.

"I have a right to be defensive! She's barely been here a day and already you've made her feel uncomfortable! She's doesn't deserve that." Luke had the grace to look a bit shamed.

"I'm sorry. I'm drunk, it's no excuse, but it's all I've got." He muttered.

"It's not me who needs to hear that." I reached around his shoulders and started to steer him home. "But then again, you'll forget any of this ever happened in the morning."

"You know, I really do hope you and Ariadne hit it off." Luke said. "It's not just that you're the odd man out, but it's that if anyone deserves to be happy, it's you."

"Thanks, bro." How could I stay mad when he said crap like that? "Try to remember that I barely know this girl. Let me sort out how I feel about her before you start getting excited."

"Deal." Luke yawned. I prayed he wouldn't fall asleep. I really didn't want to have to carry him up the hill. We walked in silence until we got back to his place.

Dale was upset at the state of his son and promised to give him a good talking to in the morning. I wanted to stop by myself to settle if he remembered anything. Chloe was fast asleep by the time I got home. It had been a hard day of distracting me and playing after all. I had to smile.

All of a sudden the image of a small girl with curly brown hair popped into my mind. She was sleeping peacefully, just like Chloe was. Almost as soon as I saw it, it was gone. I sighed again. I wasn't going to lie to myself and say that I didn't want children. I hadn't given it much thought considering there wasn't anyone in town I wanted to reproduce with, but it was no secret that I loved kids. Having some of my own wasn't only Chloe's dream, it was mine too.

I ran my hands through my hair. Who was this rancher? I didn't know, but I wanted to. There was an attraction there, even if only on my end, and I wanted to explore it. I went to my room and flopped down on my bed. It was still early, and Ariadne's haunted, blue eyes invaded my mind.

I woke up early the next morning. I hadn't slept well and had to convince myself every few hours that Ariadne was probably just fine and did not need me to check on her. So I was relieved when the sun finally came out and gave me a reasonable excuse to get up. Gramps and Chloe were still sleeping, so I dressed quietly and downed a quick glass of orange juice before heading out the door.

I had gone over what would happen this morning probably a thousand times last night as I laid awake in bed. First, I would check on Luke and see if he remembered anything. Then Ariadne. The very thought made my palms start to sweat. There was no use denying it anymore, whether I knew her or not, I was attracted to her.

Luke wasn't awake when I got to the carpenter's. Dale was and gave me permission to wake him up in any way I saw fit. I grinned and barged into his room.

"Whoa, five more minutes, Pops." He groaned and rolled over, burying himself in his blankets. I walked over and flipped the blankets, rolling him out of bed. "Hey!" He cried. I tackled him. It only took a second for him to fight back. Soon enough he was laughing along with me and surrendering. He could put up a good fight, but he was a match for me.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like my axe is lodged in my head." He grimaced. "How bad was I?"

"You don't remember?" I asked

"I remember being at the bar and teasing you about the new rancher... Ada? Daphne? I can't remember her name."

"Ariadne." I supplied. "Do you remember her coming in a and making fun of her to her face?" He paled.

"Did I?" I briefly explained what had happened. He cursed. "I didn't. Crap. I didn't mean to! I need to apologize. She doesn't need that on her first day here." He ran his hands through his already messy hair.

"Don't worry about that now." I stood back up. "I'm going to check on her. You stay here, take some aspirin. I'll let you know how she is."

"You really like this girl, eh?" Luke grinned. "Seems my teasing was justified." I punched him on the shoulder. "You're not denying it!" Luke called after me as I left. I felt my face burn.

I called goodbye to Dale and Bo and the headed down the mountain towards Ariadne's farm. The sun was still rising, but if I knew anything about farmers, it was that they rose and slept with the sun. Sure enough, when her property came into view, I could make out her small figure in the fields with her cow. And just like that, my heart started to pound and my palms got even sweatier.

"Hey!" I called once she was within earshot. She turned quickly and then brought a hand to her face. Must have been the rising sun in her eyes. She lowered it as I approached.

"Um, hi." She answered, pulling herself to a standing position and brushing her shorts off.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened last night with Luke." I apologized. Her hair was pulled back today and for the first time, I had an unobstructed view of her eyes. I had to pause for a second as I took them in.

They were even more beautiful than I remembered, so blue, so innocent, but still an eerie haunted aura came from them. I vowed in that moment that I would find out why that was, and Harvest Goddess willing, I would try to make it better. I had to concentrate after that to continue the conversation.

"It isn't like him at all to drink that much. I talked to him this morning and he feels bad. I hope you won't judge him."

"No worries, I figured it was the alcohol talking." She answered with that small smile. That smile, I knew that if this went on to friendship, there wouldn't be much I wouldn't do to see that smile.

"So, what are you doing here?" I changed the subject, waving to the field. I noticed the wheelbarrow, surely she wasn't trying to move the stone on her own, was she?

"Clearing rocks." she confirmed.

"A tiny creature like you?" I asked. Okay, as soon as it was out of my mouth, I regretted it. That was harsh. Why did I keep hurting my chances with this girl? "Why didn't you ask for help? That's a big job for someone with no experience in living in the country."

"I can do it, I'm almost done. You should have seen it yesterday." I was silent for a moment. I had seen it be for she moved in. I had to give her credit for that, the place already looked so much nicer.

"Why didn't you ask me? I told you that you could ask if you ever needed help." I persisted, trying to dig myself out of this hole.

"Because I figured you had your own work to do." She replied.

"Well, I still have a bit until I need to be at work. I'll take care of the rocks, you can handle the weeds." Without waiting for an answer, I picked up the wheelbarrow and set off for the nearest rock.

"Fine." I heard her mumble. I smiled to got to work lifting the remaining rocks. We slipped into silence, the only sounds were the rocks hitting the metal and the weeds hitting the grass. C'mon, Owen, think of something to say. Get to know her!

"So what made you want to come to the island?" I asked.

"I just wanted a change of scenery." She answered.

"Any family back home?" I persisted.

"Yeah, my parents and two sisters." She replied.

"Older or younger?"

"They're both older, I'm the youngest." She answered. "What about you?"

"My mother hadn't planned for me to be born, so I live with my grandfather, Ramsey. I think she still lives on the mainland, but I'm not to sure. My cousin Chloe lives with us too." He explained. I realized that I had never actually said that before. Everyone on the island knew already, I'd have had to explain it to anyone.

"That's really sad." She said.

"Not really." I shrugged, and I meant it. "I guess I've decided that if she didn't want me in the first place, than it wouldn't have been very fun growing up with her. Gramps is great. I'm so glad he was there to take me in."

"That's good. Man, I don't know how I could live with my grandparents!" she exclaimed. The look on her face told me she hadn't meant for that to come out quite the way it had.

"Are they that bad?" I laughed.

"Well… not really, I just wouldn't want to have to stay with them for any extended period of time." She explained.

"Fair enough. What about your sisters? I'll bet you got under each other's skin all the time." I was curious, I had never had siblings. Luke was the closest thing I had, but he was a few years younger. She laughed and I felt my heart clench. Between her smile and her laugh, this girl was going to be the death of me.

"Yeah. I was always the baby. It felt like Eliza and Persephone always got whatever they wanted and I actually had to work for what I got. But they feel the exact same way about me. I guess I did get babied a lot while I was growing up." She explained.

"Wow, your parents seem to like the more… unique names." I had heard Eliza before, but Persephone? Ariadne? Still no mention of a boyfriend. I was beginning to believe there really wasn't one.

"They're both professors of Greek Mythology at the university back home." She replied.

"Ah, that would do it. What about your friends?" I emptied a load of stones where she had them piled by the shed and returned for some more.

"They're still my friends, but they wanted to go to university and work in and office for the rest of their lives. I tried a year of university, but it wasn't for me. Plus, I couldn't see myself stuck in an office all day."

"Good for you!" I grinned. Not such a city girl after all. Good, I liked that. "So you decided to try the country?"

"Yep, that's pretty much it." She nodded, "What about you? Have you ever thought of going to the mainland to study?"

"Nope." I answered. "I like it here and I don't need a university degree to do what makes me happy."

"That's great!" She shot me another smile and my heart soared. I was in a considerably better mood as we continued to work.

When the last stone had been stacked, I was surprised to look down at my watch and discover that the blacksmith had already been open for an hour. I made my apologies and hurried back up. If I had it my way, I would have stayed. I had been having such a good time when reality came back to me. Oh well, it's not like she was going anywhere.


	4. Ask a Girl

"Where have you been, boy?" Gramps asked when I got back to the shop.

"Sorry, I lost track of time." I apologized and took my place at the forges.

"You look right pleased with yourself. What were you up to?" He asked. I hadn't even tried to hide the smile on my face. Why should I?

"I went to check on Ariadne." I confessed.

"And it took you three hours to do it?" Gramps grinned and clapped me on the back.

"I lost track of time." I repeated with a shrug. He chuckled and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'twitterpated' before he made his way back to the front counter. This time, I couldn't feel embarrassed because I knew he was right.

"How's Ariadne?" Luke asked that afternoon while we were on our lunch break.

"She's okay, doesn't look like you did any harm last night." I answered.

He exhaled. "Good, you have no idea how sorry I am about it."

"I'm pretty sure I do." I told him. He laughed.

"I'm sorry I teased so much." He went on seriously.

"It's okay." I told him. "You were right."

"About what?" Luke looked up. "You liking Ariadne? I knew it! What are you going to do about it?"

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. "I don't know! What should I do?"

"Ask her out, of course." Luke stared at me like I had three heads. "That's what you do when you like a girl."

"But I don't even know her!" I reminded him. "She's only been here two days and she's still settling in. The last thing she needs is me trying to get her to go out with me. That would be weird."

Luke and I were silent as we contemplated another course of action. One that would be a bit more subtle.

"Then I guess we'll just have to make her fall in love with you." Luke said as if that were the easiest thing in the world to do.

"How do you suggest I do that?" I asked. He was quiet again.

"I don't know." He admitted. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. We need a girl's opinion. So tonight, I'll meet you at the bar after closing and we'll ask Kathy."

Ask a girl. That seemed like the simplest solution. Why hadn't I thought of that? Probably because I didn't have any girls I felt comfortable asking. Well, apart from Chloe. But I couldn't tell Chloe, I didn't want her to get all excited in case this didn't work out. Plus, the girl couldn't keep a secret. The last thing I wanted was everyone, especially Ariadne, knowing I had a crush on her.

As for Kathy, we were good friends. There had been a point a few years back when she had wanted more, but I just wasn't feeling it. But that was a while ago, she was way over it by now.

"I'll meet you there." I said. We said goodbye and then headed back to work, him to the woods and me to the mines.

Closing time came soon enough. I deposited my ore and wonderfuls in the back room before washing up quickly, changing my clothes and heading down the mountain to the bar.

Luke was already there waiting and I thanked the Harvest Goddess that he had the foresight to order ahead and a plate of food was waiting for me. I was famished! I barely greeted him be for I dug in to the food.

"So I've been thinking." I said when I paused for a moment after my food was half gone. "Is this also a clever plan to figure out how to make Kathy fall in love with you?"

I had the satisfaction of seeing his face go dark. But he didn't say anything.

"She's not going to wait around forever, you know." I told him, taking a long drink of my beer. "Pretty girl like her, new guy moves to town, she's gone."

"You think I don't know that?" Luke said. "It's just... what can a guy like me offer a girl like her? I don't have anything. I don't have any money or my own place. What if she doesn't want what I have to offer?"

"Then I think you're better off without her." I replied. Harsh, I know. But he knew it was the truth. He was my best friend. All I wanted was for him to be happy. If it wasn't with Kathy, too bad, he'd just have to keep looking.

He was quiet for a minute and I took advantage of his silence to finish wolfing down my meal.

"Wow, Owen." Kathy came up to the table. "I didn't even see you come in and your food's gone already!" She picked up ny empty plate.

"I was hungry!" I defended myself. She laughed.

"Owen actually has a question for you." Luke spoke up before she could leave.

"Oh?" She turned back and pulled up a chair. I shot Luke a glare. I had no idea how to work this question without giving myself away. I took a deep breath, Kathy was staring at me with that sly smile of hers.

"I... well, we were wondering..." I was grateful the bar was practically empty. "How do you get a girl to fall in love with you?"

I said the last bit so quickly the only way I knew she had understood was because she was trying hard not to laugh.

"I have to say, no one's ever asked me that before." She managed to keep herself under control. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a certain new female rancher, would it?"

"Man, she can read you like a book!" Luke chuckled.

"It's not that hard to tell." Kathy shrugged. "Owen has always worn his heart on his sleeve."

I felt my cheeks flame and I wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. "Well? Can you help a guy out?"

"First of all, she's only been here two days!" Kathy started. "You'll freak her out if you start chasing after her now!"

"That's what I said." Luke nodded. I didn't bother pointing out that I had been the one to say that. If he wanted to improve his chances with her, it wouldn't help.

"So what do I do?" I asked.

"Wait a week at least." Kathy replied.

"Okay, and then what?" I prodded.

"You have to impress her, get her attention somehow. Make yourself worthy of her affections." Kathy explained.

"How do I do that?" I ran my hands frantically through my hair. I didn't know the first thing about wooing a woman. I never thought it was an important skill to have... until now at least.

"Play to your strengths." She smiled.

"My strengths? What strengths? I don't know anything about impressing girls!" I answered, starting to get more and more frustrated with this whole situation. Kathy sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No wonder you need help! How do guys even get girls to look at them without help from a woman?" Kathy said. "Your strengths, Owen! What you're good at! Can you be that dense?"

"Can't you just tell me? You've known me practically my whole life and I have no idea what you're talking about!" I begged.

"You're jacked, Owen!" She yelled, attracting attention from some of the other patrons. I wanted to disappear again. Kathy didn't seem to notice. "Goddess, you have a body like the Harvest God, if that doesn't have her crawling all over you, I have no idea what else will."

I felt my cheeks go darker. Sure, I had a bit of muscle, it was impossible to avoid with my profession. But the Harvest God? That was definitely an exaggeration. I had never thought of using my muscles for something other than my job. Did girls really find that attractive?

"Awww... look, you made him all embarrassed." Luke teased.

"Shut up, Luke." I shot him a glare.

"He's just jealous he isn't built like you, Owen." Kathy winked. "Plus you're Scottish, girls love Scottish men! Can you do an accent?"

"It's been years and years since anyone in my family actually lived in Scotland! Plus she already knows that I don't have an accent! What good would that do me anyway?"

"Shame, most girls think accents are sexy. Particularly British ones. I guess it depends on the girl." Kathy explained. I refused to let my face get any redder.

"Okay, so how do I use that to my advantage?" I tried to get back on topic. "Flex my muscles in front of her?"

"No, no." Kathy shook her head. "You have to be more subtle than that. I would suggest taking her mining with you. If she happens to be in the mine without you inviting her, all the better. But if not, just tell her you want to show her where she can find ore for upgrading stuff. Then strategically plan on wearing a sleeveless shirt, or better yet, nothing at all. No, maybe not. That could be too obvious. Plus, we don't want her to swoon before you've had a chance to woo her properly. Yes, I think that's you're best bet to get started."

"And after that?" I asked.

"The rest really has to be up to you." Kathy said seriously. "I can help get her to notice you, but I can't actually make her fall in love with you. You have to do that. Get to know her, let her get to know you. You're a good guy and she's a sweet girl, just open yourself up and be yourself. Be someone she can fall in love with."

I sat back and let that absorb for a moment. Deep down, I guess I knew that there wouldn't be any magical way to make her fall for me, but then it probably wouldn't be as satisfying when (if) she did fall in love with me.

"How was she last night after... you know." Luke asked softly. Kathy smacked him playfully with the tea towel over her shoulder.

"Shame on you, Luke!" She said. "I'm never serving you alcohol again!" Then she laughed. "She's fine, don't worry. She's a lot tougher than she looks."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."

Meanwhile, I'd had enough of the bar for one night. I was ready to head home and crash. That was a lot of information to take in.

"Thanks for dinner and advice Kathy." I stood up, stretched and dropped some money on the table.

"Anytime, Owen." She winked. "You'll let me know how it goes, right?"

"Something tells me you won't need anyone to tell you." Luke grinned. I glared at him again and then headed back outside.


	5. Mining

**A/N: Thanks Shire for the review! To answer your question, I really did like your idea! That plus a combination of boredom and me missing writing, here we are! I think Shea will be next!**

Over the next few days, I endured pestering from Luke, Kathy and even my own grandfather. Thankfully, Chloe hadn't caught on that anything was going on between me and Ariadne, which I guess it hadn't... yet. And after the teasing, they were always trying to help me figure out how to get her to like me.

"Just be yourself, how could anyone resist?" Gramps told me.

"You have to say that, your my grandfather." I reminded him.

"Well, it's the truth." He said. "If she doesn't fall for you just the way you are, I'll eat my beard."

I laughed. "Thanks, Gramps."

"Anytime, kid." He clapped my shoulder.

Just then, the phone rang. I picked it up.

"Garmon blacksmith." I answered.

"Dude, she's here!" Luke's voice answered.

"What?" I felt my palms get warm. 'She' could only be one person.

"Ariadne, she's at the carpentry! I ran into her outside and snuck in the back door to call you!"

This was what we had been waiting for. Well, what I had been waiting for. Luke was just an accomplice. If Ariadne was up here, the plan was to accidentally-on-purpose bump into her and invite her to come mining with me.

"Thanks!" I replied.

"Hurry! By the sounds of things, she may be wanting something ore for upgrades!" At that he hung up.

"I'm going to the mines!" I grabbed my mining hammer and headed for the door.

Gramps just chuckled. "Have fun."

Sure enough, when I got outside, Ariadne was just leaving the carpentry.

"Hey! Ariadne!" I called to her. She turned with that small smile and a wave. I smiled back and made my way over.

"Hey." She said. Goddess that smile... what was I here for again?

"Are you free right now?" I asked. I had been told before that my smile could be a bit goofy sometimes, I didn't believe it, but now, I was positive I must have been grinning like a fool.

"I guess so." She answered witg a small shrug. She was looking right into my eyes making it very near impossible to concentrate on the plan.

"Excellent! I thought I would teach you how to mine." I said.

"Uh, okay." She replied after just a moment's hesitation. Success! We were going mining!

"Great! Follow me." I had to physically stop myself from grabbing her Han to lead her to the mines. That would would been a bad idea, I really wanted to do this right, and I definitely didn't want to freak her out. "Did you bring your hammer?"

"Yep." She replied. "Hey, who lives up there?"

I followed her gaze. She was pointing at the empty miner's cottage. It had been abandoned for as long as I could remember. Gramps said the blacksmith's apprentice had always lived there, but seeing as how we were related and the actual shop was big enough for the three of us, there was no real reason to move out.

"No one. It's empty." I answered.

"Why? It's such a great location. If I would have known there was a house up here for sale, I would have moved there instead." She said. I laughed. That would defeat the entire purpose she had moved here for!

"If you lived here, you wouldn't have any room for crops or animals." I told her.

"Oh. I guess that's true." She mused. Then we were quiet until we got to the mines.

I loved the smell of the mines, they were dank and Dar and sometimes a bit musty smelling, but it was what I loved, it smelled like home. I spotted an ore in the corner. Well, here we go.

"Now, do you see that rock right there?" I asked. She nodded. "That's ore. If you hit it open with your hammer, then either an iron ore, a copper ore, a silver ore, a gold ore, or if you're really lucky, a rare ore will be inside. But most of the time, you won't find anything. Which is what I think makes mining so much fun. You never know what your going to find."

"That makes sense." She replied with that small smile. Good. I wasn't boring her. Yet.

Time for a demonstration. I prayed to the Harvest Goddess that Kathy was right and this would work. I lifted my hammer and brought it down on the ore. Copper. Nice.

"See? Copper." I said, yanking it free from the rest of the rock. "Do you see that crystal over there?" I pointed. She nodded again.

"Same process, except when you crack it open, you might get what the people here call a wonderful inside." I explained.

"What's a wonderful?" She asked. Questions, good, I still had her!

"Again, it's really a gamble. In this mine, you'll mainly find yellow and white wonderfuls. Maybe some red and blue if you're lucky. But wonderfuls are basically potential gems. When you find one, you can take it to Mira who will refine it for you. She charges 35G per wonderful. Most of the time, you'll end up with glass, but you also have a pretty good chance at getting things like amber and topaz from yellow wonderfuls or crystals and opals from white wonderfuls. Maybe even a diamond if you look really hard." I explained.

I swung my hammer at the crystal. It shattered, but nothing was inside.

"See? Sometimes you get nothing. Actually, most of the time you get nothing. But if you spend a good few hours in the mine, you'll end up with your rucksack full of ores and wonderfuls. Also, I forgot to mention this before, but if you want your ores refined into workable metal, you have to take them to Mira, too." I said.

"That sounds pretty straightforward. Stones have ores inside and Crystals have wonderfuls inside." She mused.

"Yep." I grinned at her. "Now you give it a try."

"Really? Okay." She looked dubious. I just wanted to see what she could do. Kathy had said she was tougher than she looked, and I had seen the state of her farm before she moved in. The girl was hiding something.

She took a hold of her hammer, she was slightly hesitant, as if sizing up an opponent. Then she lifted it above he head, her arms steady. I was surprised, she didn't look like the kind of girl who could lift something that heavy. She swung and the mine echoed with the resounding crack as the ore split.

"Hey! It worked!" She looked at me with a grin.

I was struck dumb for a second. How on earth had she done that? She was definitely a lot stronger than she looked. And that smile had my stomach doing backflips.

In that moment, I knew I was going to marry her someday. I don't know how I did, I just knew it. She was going to be my wife. It was only a matter of time.

"It's not too hard to split a rock, crystals are a little trickier." I said, coming back down to earth.

"Look! There's something inside." She pointed. I gave my head a mental shake and bent down to pick the metal out.

"Hey, congratulations! Your first ore! It looks like silver." I handed it to her.

"Thanks!" My hand tingled in the place she touched it. "Hey this is fun! Can we keep going?"

"For sure!" She wanted to keep going, did I finally have a friend to keep me company in the mines? "C'mon this way, there's more over here."

I led her down the stairs to a different level. She immediately started pounding more ore. I was still processing my revelation. That was going to make things... weird? Maybe. I needed to talk to Luke. Maybe Kathy again. Was this normal? Did Luke know he was going to marry Kathy? How did I even know to begin with? I had only known her just over a week. Love at first sight? I always thought that was a myth. Maybe not so much anymore.

These thoughts were driving me crazy. I needed to distract myself. I picked my hammer back up and broke a few more rocks before I spoke to her again.

"I'm really glad you like this, Ariadne." I said. Her eyes were licked onto mine they fluttered in the dim mine, reflecting the little light. It was so hard to look away. But then again, why should I? Kathy had told me eye contact was important.

"Really?" She replied.

"Yeah, I mean, not very many people like being down here. Some people think it's eerie and are afraid of cave-ins. But you seemed like an adventurous person when I first met you, so I knew you'd appreciate this."

"I do! Do you spend much time down here?" She asked.

"Pretty much." I laughed. "But it gets lonely sometimes. I mean, Calvin and Phoebe come down here sometimes, but they're a little bit strange you know? Plus they're still on their honeymoon, so it's just me down here."

"Well, if you ever get lonely again, just let me know. This is fun!" She repeated with that grin. I couldn't help but grin back.

"I'm glad." I has to use every fibre of my being to stop myself from closing the distance between us and gathering her up in my arms, holding her safe because I knew no one would ever be able to me her safe like I could.

So I turned back to the crystals and continued smashing.

Ariadne chattered about the farm and her animals and the plans she had for the coming season and year. I had never heard her talk this much. If there was one thing all the islanders could agree on, it was that the new farmer was very shy and quiet. I was having a hard time believing that today! I talked about work and all the responsibilities I had at the blacksmith's.

I don't know how long it had been when I started to see her get tired. When I looked down at my watch, I realized it had been hours! Gramps would be expecting me for dinner!

"Whoa, it's almost six!" I exclaimed. She looked up.

"Is it really?" Her eyes were wide. "I should get back to the ranch! Molly needs to be milked again!"

She frantically packed up her things.

"Hey, thanks for joining me. It's nice having company down here. Especially company as charming as you are." I took a chance on adding that last bit as I winked at her. Her cheeks went just the slightest bit darker and I knew I had her.

"Thanks for inviting me." She brushed some escaped hair from her eyes. "Would you mind if I joined you again sometime?"

"Not at all!" I beamed. "Come whenever you want."

"Thanks, Owen." She gave me one last smile before she hurried out, her curls bouncing behind her.

I sighed. That girl would be the death of me. I was already having a hard time letting her go. She was sweet, funny... strong too. I wanted her. I wanted to hold her close in my arms and kiss her like both our lives depended on it. I had me wanted to kiss anyone before. I had never done it, Ariadne was the first person I wanted to feel close to.

I took a few more deep breaths before I packed up my things and headed out.

Dinner was waiting by the time I got home. To my surprise, Luke was sitting at the tables with Chloe and Gramps when I got in.

"What are you, six? You live right next door!" I laughed.

"I just wanted to hear how your day went." He answered with a sly smile.

"Did you?" I pulled out a chair and sat down.

"I saw Ariadne on my way over, she had almost that same look on her face that you did when you first met her." He winked. I stopped in the middle of piling potatoes on my plate.

"Don't mess with me, Luke." I warned, though I was half hopefully he wasn't.

"It's true, ask Chloe!" He gestured to my cousin.

"She looked really happy! You guys must be good friends!" Chloe confirmed. "I remember how you looked when Ariadne moved in, you looked really happy too! You guys must really like new people!"

"I take it went well then, boy." Gramps smiled at me. I rubbed the back of my neck.

"I think so." I answered. "She said she had a really good time."

"That's my boy, told you she wouldn't be able to resist." He said. I felt my face go dark again and busied myself with stuffing my face full of potatoes. Thankfully, Chloe took over the conversation and didn't seem to understand the meaning of what we had just been talking about.


	6. The Bar

"So, how did it really go?" Luke asked once Chloe had gone to bed. Gramps set coffee and cookies on the table in front of us. I grabbed a handful.

"How did what go?" I asked, shoving a cookie into my mouth whole and effectively giving me an excuse to not answer for a minute.

"You know what I'm talking about." Luke chuckled, "I saw her when she came out, she looked... what was the word you used for Owen, Ramsey?"

"Twitterpated." Gramps answered.

"Right, she looked really twitterpated." Luke nodded. "Things must have went well, what happened down there?"

I swallowed before I went on. "Nothing, we just talked. I think we got along."

"Well, duh!" Luke laughed.

"Stop teasing the poor boy, Luke." Gramps said. "He probably doesn't understand what he's feeling for himself yet, doesn't need you telling him."

"But it's so fun!" Luke grabbed a cookie and shoved it in his mouth.

"This is new to him, let him figure it out on his own." Gramps winked. They were both having way too much fun with this. I never teased Luke about Kathy, why did I all of a sudden deserve this?

"Hello, I'm right here!" I half yelled.

"Shh! Chloe's sleeping!" Gramps said.

"I give up." I stood up and threw my hands in the air. "When will you lay off?"

"Oh c'mon, you've never had a girlfriend before, and you're so easy to tease." Luke replied with that smirk of his.

"Alright." I said. "I'm going to have a shower and then im going to bed. See you in the morning."

I left before Luke could say anything else. I knew he was only teasing, I did make it really easy for people to make fun of me. I'd didn't like arguing and I knew that in the morning Luke and I would be best buds again. I could have stuck up for myself a bit, but to be honest, I had been a bit too distracted by what Luke had said about Ariadne looking happy after spending time with me. That was nice to know. Maybe my technique was working. Or maybe she and I just got along really well. Whatever the case may be, it was definitely a good start.

Ariadne came back the next day. And the next day, but not the day after that. I could understand, farming was tough and she mentioned wanting to upgrade her house and other farm buildings. She came every other day after that, gathering material stone and precious metals one day with me and lumber the next. I came to really look forward to the days she came. We could talk so easily. I found when she was around, time went by so quickly but when she wasn't, it dragged.

I didn't intentionally try Kathy's suggestion. There were times when it just wasn't practical to cover up, so t-shirts and sometimes sleeveless shirts were what I wore, though I was suddenly very conscious of the way my muscles bulged. But if it helped my plight... Ariadne either didn't notice or didn't comment, and for that, I was grateful.

Our time together had been innocent enough, I didn't want to push her or make her feel uncomfortable, but we were getting along so well, I had to say something. Not confess or anything, but it had almost almost an entire season since she'd been here. I was getting antsy.

"It looks like you're adjusting well to life on the island." I told her one afternoon. She was starting to put a bit of muscle on and she didn't look as small as she had when she first arrived. "You're already building a little bit of muscle."

"Really?" She flexed her arm and looked almost surprise and the hard bump of muscle. I laughed and made my way over. The contact barrier was what Kathy called it. Apparently I needed to break it. I touch her flexed muscle. It really was hard. I gave it a squeeze.

"Whoa, you'd better be careful or you'll end up like me." I warned her with a chuckle. As soon as I touched her, I found that I didn't want to let go. If anything, I wanted to touch more of her, pull her flush against my body and never let go. But I had to, it would be weird and suspicious if I didn't.

"Couldn't you see me ripped the way you are?" She flexed both arms in front of her chest and growled. I had never seen The Incredible Hulk or read the comics, but I got the reference and laughed. Who would have thought the shy new farmer would have such a sense of humour? I wanted to know everything there was to know about this girl, even if it took me the rest of my life.

"You're funny! I wouldn't have guessed that you would be able to make me laugh so easily the first time I met you." I told her.

"That's why you don't base your opinions on first impressions." She replied. I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell her that my first impression of her was that she was beautiful and she turned me into an anxious fool. I checked the time.

"Whoa! It's already seven! My grandpa is going to be mad I missed supper." I said.

"Sorry, I lost track of time." She apologized.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Time just seems to go by so quickly when I'm with you." I said, picking up my hammer and heading for the stairs. She followed. Now or never, I had to say something. Anything. "I'm really glad you came to the island."

"Why? Because I'm good company?" She asked.

"Well, yeah." I replied, "But also because you make me feel good about myself."

"You make me feel good about myself!" She said after only a moment of hesitation. She hadn't been expecting that, but she didn't seem unhappy about it either. "Not the other way around."

"Well that's good! We're bound to be good friends, then." I practically laughed with relief.

"Yeah." She replied with that small smile of hers.

In my head, I had been going through the steps of courtship that I had only explained to Chloe just a season before. So far, I had only completed step one: meet a someone you really really like. The whole process was way easier said than done, but maybe Ariadne and I had known each other long enough for it not to be weird to ask her out. I wanted to, more than anything! Luke mentioned that he had a job with his father and brother upgrading her house. Mind you, he said it with a bit of an insinuation behind it. Exactly what he was insinuating, I could only guess. I just begged him not to give me away before I had figured out how to ask her out.

A couple days later, I realized that Ariadne was still coming to the mines on a regular basis, even though she had already commissioned the carpenters to upgrade her house. I almost smacked myself in the head when I realized she probably wanted to upgrade her barn and chicken coop, maybe even her tools as well. She wasn't just coming to spend time with me, though I was starting to get the feeling that her having me around wasn't necessarily a bad thing either.

I was so flustered. Why did all this relationship crap have to be so confusing? What couldn't everyone just say what they felt and let that be the end of it? I resolved that the next time I saw Ariadne, I would confess. No more of this beating around the bush crap. At least then I would know and the ball would be in her court.

"I need a drink." I told Luke after supper.

"Wanna go to the bar?" He asked. "I could use a beer too."

"Yeah, let's go." I agreed. At that, we headed down the mountain. For once, he didn't bring up Ariadne. Of course, the one time I kind of needed some advice, he was quiet. Whatever. I had already made up my mind. I could execute my plan on my own.

It wasn't long before we got to the bar. It was surprisingly loud for a Wednesday night, I looked around quickly and realized Selena was teaching some girls how to dance. I sighed. Our best bet was to head straight to the bar to try to avoid getting dragged into it.

Kathy brought us some beers. I downed mine a bit quicker than usual and waved Kathy over for another one.

"Rough day?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ever fall in love." I looked over my glass at him. "Too stressful."

"Oh, so you're in love now, are you?" Luke grinned.

"Not much point denying it anymore." I shrugged.

"It'll be worth it in the end." He assured me.

"How do you know?" I asked taking a long drink from my beer, draining it. Maybe this was a bad idea. I had to deal with this, not dull it with alcohol. Maybe we should leave...

"You might not be able to tell, but she's taken with you." He replied.

"Is she?" I asked, practically choking on my drink. Some people said guys were oblivious. People on Castanet sometimes said I was the epitome of oblivious. I hoped to the Harvest Goddess that Luke was right.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" He gestured to the dance floor. I followed his gaze. Renee and Luna were dancing with Selena dressed to the nines, but there was a fourth girl with them...

I got up.

"Ariadne?" I had to raise my voice to be heard over all the noise. "Is that you?"

She turned and my mouth went dry. My stomach started flipping again as her eyes met mine. She was wearing makeup, I had never seen her wear makeup before. She looked... not prettier, she always looked beautiful, but her features were accentuated. The dress was nothing short of revealing and I felt a heat start to pool in my loins as my gaze lingered for a second too long on her breasts. Oh goddess. I had to tell her.

"Oh, hey Owen." She said, giving me that small, shy smile. "How's it going?"

"Whoa, I barely recognized you!" I ran my hands through my hair. Her cheeks were flushed, she had been drinking. So had I, but in the end, I knew without the alcohol, I would be would more nervous than I was now. "You look really pretty."

"Thanks." She said, I noticed her cheeks go just a bit darker. Maybe Luke was right...

"I was just about to leave," I gestured to where Luke was still sitting. "But then Luke pointed you out and I thought I'd ask you to dance."

"What?" She asked. It was so loud in here, but this was a perfect excuse to hold her at least in some way as I had always wanted to.

"Do you want to dance?" I asked again a bit louder. She smiled, took a quick drink and took the hand I offered.

I took her waist in my hands and was amazed at how small it was. I could almost wrap my fingers around her completely. I smiled down at her when I felt her hands on my shoulders. She was finally in my arms, where I had no doubt she belonged.

"Ariadne, you look really good tonight." I told her. She blushed and looked away.

"Thanks." She said so softly, I barely heard it. I wanted her to look at me again, her eyes were too beautiful to be looking at the floors. I let go of her waist with one hand and lifted her chin up so she was facing me again.

"You're so cute when you blush. Don't look away." I told her.

I had to tell her. I had promised that I would confess the next time I saw her and here she was, only a few hours later. I wanted her, it felt so good to hold her in my arms.

"Ariadne…" I had no idea what I was supposed to say. Oh hey, Ariadne, I really really like you and I'm pretty sure you're the one I'm going to marry, so how about we start dating? I couldn't say that!

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was because she looked so beautiful tonight, or maybe it was all the pent up emotion I had been holding back. But as she she up at me with those compelling blue eyes and her lips slightly parted, I could only think of one thing that I wanted to do.

I closed my eyes and bent down to take her lips with mine. Goddess, it was perfect. She lips were so soft and warm compared to my dry ones. I was suddenly self-conscious of my lips, especially when she didn't kiss me back right away. But then she did and my heart soared. I moved my hands to her back, pulling her closer and kissing her like my life depended on it. Our bodies felt so right pressed against each other.

It only seemed logical to press my tongue against her closed lips and my heart kept again when she parted them and let me in. I groaned at the feel of her warm tongue meeting mine and proceeded to memorize every detail of her mouth. I groaned again when I felt her hands at the back of my head, gently pulling me down to her level. I gripped her waist again. Oh goddess, it was just her and me, I could care less about everyone else. Just this perfect girl in my arms.

I vaguely registered that people were talking, but it didn't matter until Ariadne's lips left mine abruptly. I opened my eyes. Luke, the one who teased me endlessly about this very girl, was pulling her away from me.

"Owen, you guys are both drunk, this isn't fair to her." He said.

"I don't care!" I protested. I just had her in my arms, they felt so empty without her.

"You will in the morning." Luke replied. What was that supposed to mean? I wasn't drunk, not even close!

"Let's take you home. You've had a lot to drink." Luna told Ariadne. she couldn't have that much to drink, could she? I hadn't tasted that much alcohol on her. To my horror, they started ushering her out, but I was pleased to see that she wasn't going willingly.

"Don't leave, Ariadne!" I called after her. She stretched a hand towards me, I would have reached out and pulled her back to me if Luke hadn't been holding me back.

"Come back!" She yelled back and then she was gone. Luke guided me back to the bar.

"What was that for?" I growled. "You're the one always pestering me to do something about her!"

"Yeah, well not when she's wasted!" He retorted.

"She wasn't wasted!" I defended her.

"Really? Because Luna said she'd had quite a bit to drink before we got here."

"That doesn't mean she's wasted." I said, still seething.

"Look, Owen." Luke sighed. "I know you. I know you want to do this right. I just don't think it's very fair of you to kiss her like that if she was drunk."

Crap. I hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach. She didn't deserve to be treated like that, no matter how good it felt. I burried my face in my hands.

"I'll tell you what's going to happen." Luke said. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go to her house and find out how much she remembers. If she does, great, you've got yourself a girlfriend. If not..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence. I'd have to try again. Which, really wouldn't be so bad. I would just have to somehow work up the courage again.


	7. Following the Steps

I had wanted to go down to Ariadne's farm and talk to her myself the next morning, but Luke insisted that he would go down. Why? I have no idea. I couldn't see the harm in going myself. Apart from the fact that I rarely dropped by her farm on a work morning. But Luke told me to stay home and he would report back.

"Well?" I dropped the hammer and practically stormed over when he walked back into the shop half an hour after he left.

"Sorry, man." He shrugged. My heart sank. "She doesn't remember."

After the initial disappointment, I realized that confessing in a noisy bar with several other people around and a bit of alcohol in our systems was probably not my most romantic idea. At least this way gave me a chance to do it properly. Still, at least if she remembered last night, it would be over and done with and we'd know when the other stood.

But if the way she kissed me back last night was any indication, I think I stood a good chance.

So I continued on with work for the day. If she was as hungover as Luke said she was, I didn't expect her to join me in the mines today. Which I didn't mind. I needed to think of a new game plan.

She did the next day though, and for the first time since she moved in, I wasn't nearly as nervous. Probably because I knew she liked me back, at least a little.

Hey, are you feeling better?" I asked.

"Yeah, how did you know I wasn't feeling well?" She asked. Wow, she must really not have remembered.

"Luke told me you were feeling a bit hungover." He replied, "I didn't know you drank."

"I don't… normally. I don't have a great past with bars." She explained.

"Oh?" I asked. I didn't know that. "Why?"

I started walking into the mines when I saw Luke staring at us from the carpentry. I was glad Ariadne's gaze was elsewhere when I shot him a glare.

"No reason…" She mumbled. Something wasn't right here. I was glad Luke was out of sight. It was obvious whatever the reason was was troubling her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her everything would be alright, but I stopped myself.

"There's no reason you don't have a great past with bars?" I summarized. "You can tell me, Ariadne."

"Not now, maybe later." She answered. "C'mon, I need to start saving to get my watermill fixed!"

She took off down the stairs before I could get another word in. So long as she was okay... Maybe she just didn't trust me enough at the moment. Or maybe it was too soon. She sure seemed okay now, she grinned back at men as she raced deeper into the mine.

"So tomorrow's the harvest festival." She changed the subject when I caught up. "What happens there?"

"A bunch of different things." I answered. If she wanted to talk about something else, fine. I wasn't going to push it. "There's a livestock contest for the animals you keep on your farm, a pet contest for pets and an animal race if you can ride a horse."

"I can't." She said. "Can you?"

"Yeah, I used to race horses all the time. Kathy and I were best friends when we were growing up and her father owned a few horses that he kept at Horn Ranch and Cain taught us how to ride them. It wasn't my favourite thing in the world, but I kept at it. I still ride sometimes when I get the chance. Gray said he'd lend me a horse for the race tomorrow."

"You and Kathy were best friends?" She asked.

"Well, we used to be." I answered. Everyone knew Luke was my best friend now. But Ariadne hadn't been around my entire life like everyone on Castanet had.

"What happened?" She asked. I had no problem telling her, she deserved to know. And maybe if I was honest with her, she would be honest with me about whatever it was she had been upset about earlier.

"She told me she was in love with me and I didn't believe her." I said. Love. I couldn't even day the word in front of her without blushing like a tomato.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because I knew she just wanted me for my grandpa's business, the fact that I would someday take it over and the money that came with it." I explained.

"But why would that matter? She's beautiful!" She exclaimed. I sighed and put down my hammer before turning to face her. Why couldn't shw see that beauty wasn't enough for me. It should be enough for anyone! Above all, I wanted her.

"Ariadne," I started, "I believe there's more to love than physical appearances. To a lot of people, looks mean a lot and some won't even give a person a chance if they don't meet their standards. I'm not like that. I fall in love with someone because of who they are. It doesn't matter if someone is the most gorgeous person in the world, but if their heart isn't in the right place, then I don't have any interest. I thought you knew that."

I didn't think then was the best time to tell her I thought she was the most beautiful person in the world from the moment I first say her. I felt like that would defeat the purpose of my little speech. I also didn't think the time was right to tell her I was already in love with her. Something told me that now just wasn't the moment to confess. For the thousandth time I wished she remembered what happened in the bar. Because then I could wrap my arms around her and hold her close without it being weird.

"I'm sorry, I just have a hard time believing that there are actually guys out there that don't base feelings towards a person on how pretty they are." She said. In that moment, I vowed to prove her wrong.

"Well, believe it!" I laughed, grateful for the first time that she had averted her gaze. There would be no telling what would happen if I had been able to see those captivating, haunted eyes in that moment.

We continued on with our work, sticking to safer topics of conversation. It was like the kiss in the bar had never happened. Things were so normal between us. Well, at least for her. There was no way I could ever forget that kiss. Especially when all I wanted was to do it again.

Later that night, Chloe and I were along at the shop. Gramps was visiting Dale and I was back at the forges. Ariadne had brought some her her tools in to be upgraded and I didn't mind putting in the overtime hours to make sure the job was done perfectly.

Chloe was chattering on about her day while she sat on top of the counter, swinging her legs as she talked. She picked some flowers that were now in a vase on the kitchen table; she played with Taylor, visited with Anissa and Jin's baby, and helped Gramps tidy up the house a bit.

I had been spending so much time with Ariadne and trying to get her to like me that I felt a pang of guilt when I realized I hadn't been spending as much time with my cousin.

"You spend a lot of time with Ariadne!" Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed. It was like she could read my mind! "Do you really really like her?"

I put down the tools and turned to face her. She was was young and innocent. Yet, she had always been there for me and I had always been there for her. I found that what I didn't feel comfortable sharing with my grandfather and best friend, I felt just fine sharing with my six-year-old cousin.

"Yeah, I do really really like her." I smiled. She grinned.

"So you're going to marry her, right?" She clapped her hands together. I couldn't help but smile ever wider.

"I hope so." I answered. She giggled and then cheered, pumping her fists in the air.

"When?" She asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold your horses!" I told her. "You're forgetting what I told you last winter, there's other things I have to do before I can marry her!"

She was quiet for a moment as she thought back.

"Are you going to ask her to go on a date with you?" She asked.

"I most certainly am." I replied.

"Hurray!" She cheered again and launched herself off the counter to latch onto my leg. I could help but laugh. "Then you're going to ask you to marry her, right? When, when, when?"

I reached down and pulled her up into my arms.

"You're just going to have to be patient. These things take time." I told her. Then I winked. "But if I have it my way, I'll marry her before the end of next year."

"Yay!" She clapped her hands together.

"But this has to be our secret." I told her seriously. "I want it to be a surprise."

"Okay." She nodded enthusiastically. "I won't tell."

"Not even Gramps." I said.

"Is it a surprise for Gramps too?" She asked.

"Yes, at least for now." I replied.

"Okay. I won't even tell Gramps." She promised. "Can I be the flower girl?"

I laughed. "Ask me again after I ask Ariadne to marry me. And she says yes!"

She giggled. "Okay, Owen."


	8. The Ocean

For the first time in a long time, I got to sleep in. I couldn't remember the last time I slept in, it sure felt nice and I knew better than to get used to it. Normally, I was up with the sun, starting the fire for the forges and then working the metal I mined the day before once the fires were hot enough. Festival days weren't only a chance to spend time with people I didn't normally see around, but I got to sleep in. Such a simple thing, but I felt more refreshed that I had in weeks when I finally rolled out of bed at 10:30.

Chloe, apparently, had already been up for hours. She helped Gramps make pancakes, sausages and bacon for breakfast. Normally, we didn't have much time to dedicate to breakfast, so this was really nice. So far, this was shaping up to be a good day.

Chloe chattered, as she always did, while we ate, this time she was talking about how yesterday she helped Cain and Hanna get organized for the Animal Festival today. The festival had already started a couple hours ago, but since the first contests were for livestock and pets, and seeing as we didn't own any of either, we hung out at home until the horse races, which I usually participated in. I don't really know why I did, it wasn't like I was any good at it, I never won. But it was just something something did every year.

That was one of the nice things about the animal festival, since we didn't really have to be there until later, we could spend time as a family without work interfering. Strange, this year, it felt like we weren't all here, like there was someone missing. I shrugged it off, though I knew I was thinking about Ariadne. She wasn't family... yet. But that didn't mean that I didn't want to spend time with her on a festival day. I would see her later, I assured myself. Maybe I could ask her to do something after after festival was over.

After breakfast, we did the dishes together. But the time they were dried and put away, it was after noon and time to head down to Flute Fields. I headed straight for the stable to figure out what was going on as soon as we got there.

"Owen! There you are!" Cain greeted me. "We were just wondering if you'd show up!"

"I always show up!" I laughed.

"You're going to be riding Red today. He's all ready to go." He gestured to a large horse with a dark orange coat. Red and I were no strangers, I was the heaviest horse rider here and Red was the horse that least minded my weight.

"Thanks, Cain." I said, making my way over to the horse.

"Not much point in delaying any more. Everyone else is here and ready to go." Cain looked around the stable. Sure enough Renee, Kathy and Gill were all ready to go. Kathy gave me a wink. I smiled back.

"Okay, cool." I shrugged and got on the horse. Cain led us all out to the track.

I saw Ariadne leaning against the fence, waiting for the race to start. I smiled and waved at her. She looked a bit surprised and looked around quickly before she waved back. She was too cute, was she making sure I was waving at her and not someone else? I couldn't hold back the laughter.

"Welcome everyone to the last competition of the day!" Cain called to the crowd. Everyone gathered around the track cheered and clapped. "The rules are simple, the first competitor to complete two laps of the track wins! The race will start when I shoot this pistol."

"You all know the rules and I trust each of you enough not to be pulling any funny business." He turned to us and said so that only we could hear. There had never been any 'funny business' for as long as I had 've racing, but I feel like Cain felt better warning us.

"Three… two… one…" He shot the pistol and we took off.

For whatever reason, I felt something I had never felt before during the races: I wanted to win. I had never wanted to win before, I had only ever been in the race for the fun of it, and because they needed a fourth racer. But with Ariadne watching, I wanted to show off. I seemed to have forgotten that I was terrible at racing.

I didn't even know where to start to get ahead of Gill, who had just passed me, leaving nme in last place... as usual. How did I make Red go faster? I guess practice might help. If I saw Red more than once a year, it might give me a better chance. A bit late for that now though!

Who am I kidding? I'm not a competitive person, and I certainly didn't want Ariadne thinking I was. In the end, I finished last, as usual, and did so with a smile on my face.

"Congratulations, Kathy." I shook hands with Kathy, who won.

"Good race, Owen." She smiled. "And if I'm not mistaken, there's a pretty young farmer who just can't seem to keep her eyes off you."

My cheeks must have darkened. She winked

"Go get her, tiger." She chuffed my shoulder.

I tried not to look back Ariadne and let her see how red my face was. So I led the horse back to the stables be for I went out to meet her.

"Hey, that looked like fun." She said.

"It was so stressful. I don't really like competitions." I didn't mention that it wasn't normally stressful. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Sure, I need to get Molly back home." She replied. I found out later that her cow had placed third in the animal competition.

"Do you feel like going for a swim?" I asked. It was the first thing that came to mind. It was the first really warm day of the year and her house was right in front of the ocean. It had been calling to me all day.

"Where?" She asked.

"I was thinking the beach near your house." I replied.

"Okay…" She answered slowly, "Sure, just let me bring Molly home."

"Great!" I grinned, "I'll meet you at there."

She waved and I took off to find Gramps and Chloe.

"You raced very well today, kid." Gramps clapped me on the back. I laughed.

"I came in last, Gramps. I always do!" I reminded him. "Anyway, I have to run home and grab my swim shorts."

"You're going swimming?" Chloe started jumping up and down. "Can I come?"

I laughed. "Not this time, kiddo. This time it's just going to be me and Miss Ariadne." I bent down to her level and winked.

"Ooooh!" She said. "Are you going to ask her to go on a date with you?"

This time, it was Gramps who laughed. "I think he already has!"

"Really? You told me you didn't yet!" Chloe pointed a finger at me.

"I haven't!" I defended myself.

"Alright!" Gramps threw his hands up in surrender. "Can't blame me, you're as jittery as a teenager."

"No I'm not!" I argued. But even as I said it, I could feel my cheeks growing darker.

"Suit yourself." Gramps grinned and took Chloe's hand. Together, we went back up the mountain, Chloe trying the whole time to convince me to let her come along with no luck. Gramps managed to distract her with the task of making dinner while I changed quickly into my swim shorts, grabbed a towel and slipped back out.

She wasn't there when I got there. Probably either still getting ready or helping settle Molly in. Geez. I couldn't believe how fidgety I was. Gramps was right, I was acting like a teenager! I guess that's what I get for never dating anyone before. I guess this could be a date... it was the first time we had hung out not on her farm or in the mines.

I heard her front door open and I turned to see her step outside. I couldn't help the goofy grin that probably took over my face.

"Are you ready?" I asked. She smiled slowly back and removed her towel, leaving her in a bikini top and shorts. It took all the willpower I had not to stare.

"Yeah, let's go!" At that, she took off for the water. As soon as she made contact, she left out a mini shriek and backed right back out. "It's cold!"

"It's still the spring! The water doesn't heat up until the fall." I laughed and bolted for the ocean, making sure to splash her in the process.

"Hey!" She screamed. She kicked some water at me. I laughed again, sticking my wet hair off my face.

"That's no good, I'm already wet." I told her and splashed her back.

"That's no fair, you started it!" She said. Well, if she wanted a water fight, I was only too happy to give her one.

"I'll finish it." I took a couple steps closer. She backed away.

"Wait, what are you doing?" She was starting to panic, "Go away! Don't come any closer! You're wet and cold!"

I ran. She ran too, but I caught up quickly. In one swift motion, I grabbed her waist and threw her over my shoulder before turning back towards the ocean.

"Put me down!" She screeched and pounding her fists against my back. I kept walking into the waves.

"It's okay once you're wet." I assured her. Once we were deep enough, I threw her in to prove my point.

"It's freezing!" She shot back out of the water amd didn't hesitate in splashing me.

"But you're in now." I splashed her right back.

She dove under the water with this mischievous look in her eyes that practically begged me to chase her. I took off. She was a fast swimmer, but my legs were longer and it was only about a minute before I closed my hands around her waist and dragged her back up. She was prepared though, I was just about to chastise her for trying to get away when she spat a mouthful of ocean water in my face. I groaned and she used the opportunity to wriggle free.

I blinked salt water out of my eyes and blindly swam forward. I got lucky and she came to the surface for air right when my eyes stopped stinging, and only about a meter in front of me. I grabbed her.

"I win." I told her, pretty sure I was ginning like a fool again.

Those eyes, one glance and I was a goner. I couldn't help but stare. To my surprise, she held my gaze. I had been worried I would freak her out, but she seemed just as intent to look away as I was. Goddess, I wanted to kiss her so bad. Again, I felt a tightening in my loins that I hadn't felt for any girl ever before as I held her.

"Oh, Ariadne." I sighed.

"What?" She asked tentatively.

"Are you sure you don't remember any of what happened two nights ago?" I asked. It would be so much easier if she did, in a few more moments, I knew I wouldn't be able to be responsible for my actions anymore.

"What do you mean?" She asked. My heart sank. Of course she didn't remember. Why would she? Still, it didn't hurt to elaborate...

"Well… you know, you looked pretty and I… you know…" I looked away, I don't really know why, maybe I couldn't face the rejection again.

"You kissed me." She said softly. My eyes snapped back to hers.

"You mean you remember?" We both said at the same time.

"Luke told me you were too drunk to remember what happened!" She explained. I was going to kill him.

"He told me the same thing, but about you!" I told her, managing to laugh it off.

"I don't drink that much!" She defended herself.

"Neither do I… usually." I replied. "I hope you aren't mad."

"Why would I be mad?" She asked.

"You know, if you didn't want me to kiss you. It's okay, I promise I won't do it again." I explained, I cursed myself internally. Why would I even say that? I hoped to the Harvest Goddess that she argued.

"No! It's okay!" She said quickly, "I mean… I don't mind if you want to kiss me again… only if you want to, that is."

"I want to." I silently thanked the Harvest Goddess as i lifted her out of the water and closed the gap between our lips.

I had to try really hard not to moan a bit once our lips came into contact with each other. Something about it made me crazy, something about this girl. We were the only people in the world in that moment, she was the only one I wanted to focus on. Her and this feeling she gave me when I kissed her.

I felt her arms around my neck and she pulled me closer. I smiled and pulled her lip into my mouth. She opened willingly and let me invaded her mouth, claiming her. She was mine.

"You are an amazing person, Ariadne. Both inside and out. I don't want you to ever forget that." I told her. She blushed. "It's true. My life was boring until I met you, but I didn't know it. Now, I can't bear the idea of ever losing you. So I'm going to try my best to make you feel good about yourself."

She smiled and brought her hand up to my face, caressing it gently. She moved her hand over my cheeks, my nose, my forehead and my mouth, like she was memorizing the feel of my face. She rested her hand on my cheek and just looked up at me. I bent down and kissed her again


	9. The Triumphant Return

I wanted to hold her in my arms forever. That was what I was thinking as I held her on the beach, both of us wrapped up in towels, me trying to keep her warm. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and I knew we couldn't stay out here for much longer. I never thought I was a touchy-feely kind of person, but with her, I definitely was.

"As much as I hate to say it, it's getting late." I sighed, loosening my hold on her. She stood and stretched. I got up and took her hand, walking her to her house.

"Can't you stay?" She asked, looking up at me with those beautiful blue eyes I found so hard to resist.

"I shouldn't." I answered, pulling myself together. "People would talk."

"Oh." She looked away.

"I need to get back home, too. I have to be up early for work tomorrow." I went on. I didn't want her to think that was the only reason. I could care less what people thought, I was on cloud nine now. She liked me! She kissed me, and she wanted to be with me, who really cared what anyone else thought?

"Yeah, I need to get the summer crops going." She replied.

I knew I had to leave, but I just couldn't bring myself to. A breeze came off the ocean and she started to shiver.

"You're shivering!" I exclaimed and opened my arms instinctively, "Come here."

I smiled as she came willingly and I took complete advantage of the situation by bending down and planting a light kiss on her. Only days before, I thought her smile would be the death of me, but that had been before I knew what her kisses could do to me. I couldn't stay here forever. At least not now. I didn't want to freak her out if this was too fast for her. I let go and took a small step back.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I waved somewhat awkwardly and turned to the path, that goofy grin still plastered on my face. I hoped to the Harvest Goddess that Gramps and Chloe were asleep by the time I got home.

Of course I could have no such luck. Well, at least Chloe was asleep, but Gramps and Luke were waiting up at the kitchen table, mugs of coffee in front of them.

"The triumphant return!" Luke called when I walked through the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, shutting the door behind me and kicking my shoes off. "Why are you guys even still awake? We have to work in the morning."

"If I'm honest, I'm here to apologize." Luke said, the smile disappearing from his face. It took me a moment before I remembered.

"Why would you do that, man?" I crossed the distance between us in two strides and threw my wet towel on the ground. "You knew she remembered and you lied to me... and her!"

He got to his feet quickly. "I don't know. I guess it just didn't seem like the right way for it to happen, and it seemed to easy to tell you guys that the other didn't remember. I'm not trying to make excuses, it just seemed like a good idea at the time."

I softened my gaze. I knew Luke only cared and he hadn't intended to hurt either of us.

"It's alright, things turned out okay anyway." I clapped him on the back.

"Yeah, I saw you two making out in the ocean, congrats man!" He grinned and clapped me right back. I couldn't help either the blush or the grin that both took over my face.

"I told you things would work out, Owen." Gramps spoke up.

"Oh, I know Owen, and I know he won't consider things 'worked out' until he puts a ring on her finger." Luke winked.

"You know me well." I said softly. "But for now, I'm happy with this. I'm going to bed."

I woke up the next morning tired, but feeling more refreshed than I had the day before. She liked me! I went through the morning with a smile on my face, laughing and talking with Chloe as I worked the forges about Ariadne and swimming last night. I left out quite a few details, but she was only six, she didn't need to know exactly what we got up to. All she needed to know was that I had moved on to the next step in wooing a woman.

The big news on the island that day was that Tody and presented Renee with a blue feather last night after the festival. There were going to get married at the end of the season and the island was practically buzzing with excitement. Jin and Anissa had been the first of our generation to get married, that was the first wedding I had ever been to. Since then, Calvin and Pheobe had been married and other couples seemed only too eager to tie the knot, even if no one else had made a move.

To be honest, I was surprised that Toby and Renee were next. I thought Julius and Candace maybe, or even Chase and Maya. I wondered how much longer Gill and Luna would keep trying to hide whatever it was that was going on between them, even me, apparently the most oblivious person ever, knew something was going on.

As the afternoon progressed, I was planning our first real date. Tonight, if she wasn't busy. Dinner seemed pretty standard for a first date, I would drop by her farm after work and take her to the Inn for dinner. I couldn't wait. I wanted to be with her all the time now, I hoped with all my heart that last night wasn't a fluke and she still wanted to go out with me.

As I thought about it, I realized I hadn't actually asked her out. She had given me permission to kiss her, I had assumed that was the same thing. You didn't kiss someone like that if you didn't want to date them. And Ariadne wasn't the kind of person to lead someone on. I couldn't see her doing it. Still, I would ask her properly tonight, giving her one more chance to reject me, though I prayed she wouldn't.

I practically ran down the mountain after I finished work a couple hours early and Gramps let me off. I had showered quickly and checked my appearance way more than the zero times I usually did. I just wanted to see her.

She was still in her fields with a watering can when I found her. As I approached, she watered the last one, put the can down and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Hey, look's like you're doing pretty well." I called as I got closer. She turned and smiled when she saw me, I rubbed the back of my neck. Here goes nothing. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out to dinner with me tonight."

"That would be great." She replied. I felt my heart rate increase. "But I'm pretty stinky from working out here all day. Let me change and shower and then we can go."

She picked her watering can back up and headed for the house. I followed her in.

"Um, you don't have to wait around here for me." She told me. I shrugged, trying so hard not to be obvious about the fact that I just wanted to be with her.

"I can wait here." I replied.

"Uh, okay." She handed me a small device covered in buttons. "The red button is for power and the arrows change the channel."

It controlled the TV! I almost laughed out loud. We didn't have a TV at home, it had never been something that intrigued me. I was happy to make my own entertainment.

"Oh, that's okay." I couldn't help the chuckle, "I'm not really that into watching TV. I'll just wait here."

"Suit yourself." She seemed surprised and I realized that she had a right to be. She came from the city where apparently everyone had a TV, sometimes even two! It was unheard of on the island, but it was her normal.

When she disappeared into the bathroom and I heard her turn on the water, I realized this was probably a bad idea. Waiting in here when she got ready, I mean, not dating her, that was the best idea I had ever had. She wasn't wearing any clothes in there, and for some reason, this was the fact that I couldn't seem to stop thinking about. I groaned as I felt that now familiar tightening in my loins.

I looked around for something to distract myself and trying hard not to listen to the sound of the running water in the bathroom. I found a book on farming on her bookshelf. Not the best distraction, but it didn't hurt to learn about what she did while I waited. I took a seat in an armchair and opened the book.

It was way sooner than expected when I heard the bathroom door open. One thing I knew about girls was that they took forever to get ready. Yet when I turned, she was ready to go, looking really pretty in a black skirt and white top.

"That was quick." I told her and got up. "You look great!"

"Thanks." She smiled softly. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." I replied and headed for the door to pull my boots on. Once we were outside, I offered her my arm. She smiled up at me again and took it, drawing herself close to my side where I had no doubt she belonged. If not, then I was sure it was were I belonged.


	10. Corny

"So, what did you do all day?" She asked after we were seated.

"Oh, you know. Pounded some rocks, worked on some metal, thought about you until I thought I'd go crazy." I rubbed the back of my neck again and averted my gaze. Oh well, I might as well be honest.

"Really?" She seemed surprised.

"Really." I grinned, but I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes again. "But I have something that I'd like to get cleared up."

"Yeah?" She nodded, encouraging me. I took a deep breath.

"Do you really like me? Or are you just humouring me?" I had to know. Something about this would always seem wrong to me if I didn't find out.

"What?" She asked.

"You know, are you only going out with me because I kissed you first and you feel obligated to date me." I elaborated, meeting her eyes again and holding it.

"Owen," She paused for a second before she went on. "You have no idea how much I care about you. I think I fell in love almost instantly with you when I first got here."

Well. That was certainly news to me. And definitely not the answer I was expecting. Crap. What was I supposed to say to that? With my heart soaring the way it was now, I couldn't trust myself to say much.

Then I realized that I wasn't the only putting myself out there. She was too. She had just been so honest with me, whether or not I was expecting it didn't matter. She looked so vulnerable, scared of rejection, as if I could ever reject her. I reach across the table and brought my hand to her cheek.

"Ariadne," I took another deep breath, she had looked away while I processed her words and now she was looking straight at me again. I owed it to her to be honest. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to hide my feelings from you. I was scared that you didn't feel the same and that you would reject me. That's why I kept trying to spend time with you like we were friends. I wanted to see if what I felt for you was real. And it was. You make me laugh and you're someone I can talk to and trust my secrets with."

"You really think so?" She asked tentatively. I smiled.

"There's only one way to find out for sure." I answered.

"What's that?" She asked.

"For you to let me be your boyfriend." I said. Corny. I know. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wished I could have rephrased them. But then she smiled and my stomach flipped.

"Hey, no problem." She said. I stroked her chin with my thumb for a second before I moved my hand away, grinning like a fool again, I was sure.

I think the rest of our date went well. Better than that, it went great. She had me laughing so hard, I knew she was funny, but not quite the extent of it. There were tears in my eyes from some of the stories she told me of her childhood years.

"I'm so glad you could come out with me tonight, Ariadne." I told her when we got back to her house.

"I'm glad you invited me out. I had a great time." She smiled back at me.

"I'm happy, that out of all places, you decided to come here." I told her, bending down slightly, there was one more thing I had to do before I could go home. "Can I kiss you goodnight?"

"I won't let you leave until you do." She grinned up at me. I almost laugh. Perfect answer.

I bent down and took her face in my hands before I kissed her. She seemed to melt at my caress and I couldn't help but smile. She liked me. She really really liked me. I had definitely not expected this so soon, but I wasn't complaining.

"Goodnight, Ariadne." I breathed as I pulled away just a bit. I kissed her once more before I pulled away completely, taking up most of my willpower to do so.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said, sounding a little breathless to my pleasure.

"I'll count on it." I answered, backing away slowly. I didn't want to miss one moment of her. Finally, I turned away and headed back up the mountain path, reliving the events of the evening in my mind with that goofy grin on my face.

"Is this going to be a normal thing now?" I asked when I walked in my house and found both Gramps and Luke waiting for me at the kitchen table.

"We were just curious as to how it went." Gramps answered innocently.

"But why are you suddenly here all the time?" I asked Luke.

"Ramsey says I'm always welcome." He shrugged.

"But it's late, we all have to work in the morning." I reminded him.

"Precisely why we're still awake! Do you have any idea what time it is?" Luke mock scolded me.

"Ha ha. Nice try. I'm going to bed." I told him.

"You're not going to tell us how it went?" Luke's grin was wiped off his face. I grinned.

"Sorry man, you're just going to have to get your own love life." I replied.

"Wait, there's something you should know if you're serious about marrying her." He called out when I turned away. That stopped me in my tracks.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I hadn't told either of them that I was serious about marrying her. I thought they were only joking before.

"Owen." Gramps started, "Chloe is a sweetheart, but she can't keep a secret to save her life."

I cursed myself. I should have known.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." He said quickly. "In fact, quite the opposite really, we're really happy for you and only want to help."

"Thanks, Gramps." I replied sheepishly. I took a seat at the kitchen table with them and reached for one of the cookies on the plate in the middle. "Now what do I need to know?"

"It's something I overheard Toby saying," Luke said. "Apparently, Ariadne told Renee that when a guy in the city proposes, he gives her a diamond ring."

I blanched. A diamond ring? Diamonds were hard to come by. But then again, so were blue feathers. At least I knew a thing or two about mining. So this was good news.

"I'll have to start tomorrow afternoon." I mumbled.

"Start what?" Luke asked.

"Mining, diamonds are hard to come by, I want to marry her before the year is over." I explained. I had no idea where that came from. Maybe it was how positive her response had been tonight, her confession, the way she kissed me and avoided looking me directly in the eyes with her cheeks all red. She was mine.

"Really? That soon?" Luke exclaimed.

"Luke, when you know, you know." Gramps patted his shoulder. "Owen knows, and he's eager to do something about it." He turned to me. "I was going to wait a while to give you this, but what the heck? It won't do me any good holding on to it."

Gramps got up and headed for his bedroom. Luke raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged. I was tired. I really hoped this congregation in the kitchen wouldn't go on after every date with Ariadne.

He returned after a minute and placed a blue feather on the table in front of me. I looked up at him, confused. Why was he giving me this? I thought we already established that I couldn't use this to propose.

"This was the blue feather I gave your grandmother." He explained, "We had almost fifty years together, maybe it'll be lucky for you and Ariadne. Call me old fashioned, but if you give her a diamond ring, it'll be real for her. Give her a blue feather, it'll be real for you. It just doesn't seem right getting married without a blue feather."

"Thanks, Gramps." I got up and wrapped my arms around him. He patted me hard on the back.

"Good things are coming your way, son." He said. "And I can't think of anyone more deserving."


	11. Tachycardic

It seemed like before I knew what was happening, summer was coming to an end. I couldn't believe Ariadne and I had been dating for almost an entire season. Our routine stayed pretty much the same. We would work and she would join me in the mines, though I tended to pay a bit more attention to the crystals then the rocks than I usually did. I prayed she wouldn't read too much into it, I wanted the ring to be a surprise.

I brought her to the Firefly Festival, which she had never been to before. She seemed surprised of the whole concept of remembering our ancestors, but appreciative all the same. From what I've learned from her, the city seemed like a strange place with an entirely different way of life than Castanet. I certainly had no desire to go there.

Sometimes I would meet her on her farm at the end of the work day and we would sit in her fields, drinking tea or hot chocolate and just talk or lay on our backs, looking up at the stars. She couldn't seem to get over the fact that the stars were so bright out here, something about how there was too much light in the city and you couldn't see the stars as well.

I was planning on going down to see her one day after work as she hadn't come to see me. I assumed she had just gotten busy with the farm, as was usually the case. I dumped my bag full of ore and wonderfuls out on Mira's counter.

"Owen, we have more crystals and opals than we know what to do with!" She told me after taking in all my finds. "Why do you keep bringing more white wonderfuls?"

"I'm looking for a diamond." I replied.

"Why? We hardly sell any diamonds here." Mira cocked an eyebrow.

"He wants to give it to Ariadne." Gramps spoke up.

"Really?" Mira asked.

"Well, I was going to ask you to put it in a ring first, and then I'm going to give it to Ariadne." I elaborated. "It's how people get engaged in the city."

"You want to propose? Oh Owen, that's so wonderful!" Mira smiled and came out from behind the counter and gave me a hug.

At this point, I was sure everyone would know I was going to propose before I actually did. I thanked Mira, grabbed an apple from the kitchen and headed out for Ariadne's.

"Busy day?" I asked her when I got there. She was laying on her back in the fields with her eyes closed. She didn't even open them when I spoke. She must have been expecting me.

"Mmm." She answered and patted the ground beside her. I smiled to no one in particular and sat down next to her and took her hand in mine. She gave it a squeeze and I smiled a bit wider.

She opened her eyes when I laid down next to her and turned on her side to face me.

"Sorry I didn't make it up to see you today." She said.

"Don't be." I told her. "It's nicer to spend time with you without having to work or worry about anything."

She smiled, closed her eyes again and scooched a bit closer to me so our bodies were touching.

"Ariadne?" I whispered.

"Mmm?" She mumbled. I took a deep breath.

"I love you." I said.

Her eyes shot back open and she locked eyes with me, searching them. For what, sincerity? I had never been more serious in my life. Then she smiled again.

"I love you too, Owen." She breathed. My heart leapt. I let go of her hand and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her on top of me and then kissing her.

She giggled and then her lips were occupied, kissing me hard. She pressed herself closer and I was only too happy to help by pulling her back down onto my body. I worried for a fleeting moment about passersby, but then it was gone. Who cared about people watching when the woman of my dreams was kissing me like this? It just felt too right. So familiar, something that I had been missing my whole life but never realized it until it was here.

She pulled away first and smiled down at me before resting her head against my chest.

"I can hear your heart." She whispered. "It's beating so fast."

"It always beats like that when you're around." I replied.

"So does mine." I snuggled closer and I tightened my hold on her. No way was she going anywhere anytime soon. I realized the corn plants were tall enough to hide us from view and I grinned to myself, no one would be able to see us. It was just me and her.

I kissed the top of her head and sighed.

"What?" She asked, raising her head.

"Nothing." I said quickly. "I'm just really happy right now."

She grinned.

The next day, I was back in the mines. Chloe wanted to come along today and Ariadne had said last night that today was going to be another busy day for her, so I really appreciated the company.

"Did you find a diamond yet?" Chloe asked.

"No, not yet." I told her with a small smile. She sighed.

"It's taking forever!" She dragged the last word out, clearly exasperated. I chuckled.

"Diamonds are hard to find." I reminded her.

"But you've been going on dates for more than a season now." She whined. "Dr Jin and Miss Anissa went on dates for three weeks before they got married. And Mr Calvin and Miss Phoebe only went on dates for two weeks!"

I ruffled her hair. "Things are a bit different with Ariadne and me. We haven't known each other our whole lives like everyone else on the island has. So it's taking a bit longer for us to get to know each other."

"Oh." She said.

"Just be patient." I told her. "Someday we'll get married. Hopefully someday soon."

I was looking at her when I should have been looking where I was going. That was my mistake. That, plus the fact that it was pretty dark down here, made me miss the stairs directly in front of me leading down. My foot plunged, expecting level ground, but coming in contact with thin air instead and I lost my balance. I couldn't stop the rest, it was almost happening in slow motion. I fell down the hard, rock stairs, a longer flight of stairs than normal. My side hit a particularly sharp edged rock and I cried out in pain before I got to the bottom, breaking my fall. I touched my side and flinched in pain, my hand came back dark and sticky. Blood. I groaned in pain.

"Owen!" Chloe called from the stairs as she raced down. "Are you okay?"

"Get help!" I told her when I tried to get up, but the pain proved the task too difficult. I slumped back down on the ground. I heard Chloe run back up the stairs and I hoped she would hurry. I hoped someone would be around to help.

The thought crossed my mind that I should try and staunch the flow of blood. It hurt to put pressure on the wound and I had no idea how big it was, or how serious it was. But I put pressure on anyway. After a couple minutes, I started seeing spots and my vision cut off and on again. I blinked. I had to stay awake. No matter who came back with Chloe, they wouldn't be able to carry me up on their own, it wouldn't do anyone any favours if I blacked out.

I heard footsteps hurrying down the stairs. Thank the Harvest Goddess.

"Owen?" I heard a very familiar voice call. Was I still conscious? I must have blacked out, there was no way Ariadne would have been the closest person Chloe found.

"Ariadne? Is that you?" I answered as loud as I could. I felt so weak, if I was unconscious, why did I still feel like crap?

"Yes, I'm almost there." She called back. I saw a faint light. She brought a flashlight with her. "What happened?"

"I… can't remember. I think I tripped, it was so dark." I tried so hard to remember, it had only been a few minutes ago, but my memory was so fuzzy.

"Where do you feel pain?" She was here now, knelt on the ground next to me, searching me for any sign of injury.

"I landed on my side." I gestured to where the injury was. She reacted immediately and pulled a length of cloth out of I don't even know where and tied it around me to stop the blood flow.

"Anywhere else?" She asked. I honestly didn't know, but from the fall I had just taken, I didn't think that could possibly be my only injury.

"Just a few scrapes, I'll be fine." I tried to sit up, but my vision went black and I laid back down again with a groan.

"Chloe, can you go back up and get more help? We need to get him out of here." I hadn't realized Chloe was there until then. She hurried back up the stairs.

"Owen, I'm going to help you stand up. We need to get you out of here, there's not much we can do down here where the lighting is so bad." She explained. "Now I'm going to wrap my arm under your arms and help you get up."

She wrapped an arm under my shoulder securely. I had no idea how she thought she was going to lift me up, I was at least twice her weight. Though I guess, from what I knew about her, not everything about her was what it seemed.

"Okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's do it." I answered, trying as hard as I could to hide how much pain I was actually in. I was strong, I could tough this out.

"One… two… three!" She was strong and helped pull me up, I helped out as much as I could, but I couldn't deny that without her, I wouldn't have gotten up at all. "Good, now we're going to climb the stairs."

The height difference between us was even more pronounced now that it was actually important. But she was a trooper and supported me as we climbed the stairs. It wasn't long before I heard more steps hurrying down the stairs

"We're right here!" She called. A few moments later, Luke and Dale appeared in front of us on the staircase.

"Holy, crap Ariadne!" Luke exclaimed, "How did you get him up?"

"That's not important now, Luke." Dale said, "C'mon, we can take it from here."

I thanked the Harvest Goddess for the millionth time in the past two seasons. I felt bad for using all her strength and at least with Luke and Dale, there were two of them and were a bit closer to my height.

"Watch his right side," She told them when they took over, "There's a nasty looking gash there."

"We're pretty close to the ground." Luke explained as he grunted under Owen's weight.

Sure enough, it was only a few more flights of stairs until we got to the top. Gramps and Chloe were waiting for us.

"Get him inside," I felt so foolish. Gramps looked so worried. "Chloe, go get the doctor."

I hadn't realized Ariadne was still there until Luke and Dale helped me into bed and she was immediately there with her first aid kit.

"Do you guys think you could get his shirt off? I want to see how injured he is." She asked Luke and Dale. The complied.

Instantly, she was ripping open alcohol wipes and cleaning my wounds with a sharp sting. She was moving so fast and I was having such a hard time concentrating anyway. I grunted when she put some of her weight on my body to stop the blood, but I knew she was helping, so I didn't complain.

"How is he doing? Is he still conscious?" Dr Jin had joined the party.

"Yeah." I heard Gramps answer.

"Ariadne, what are you doing here?" Jin turned to her.

"Chloe asked me to help." She explained.

I felt a pang of disappointment when Ariadne got up and Jin replaced her at the bedside. I hadn't minded having her that close to me. Jin started examining the wound.

"How did you know what to do?" He asked.

"I took a year of Nursing." She explained. I knew that.

"Why didn't you continue?" He asked.

"I would have had to work in a hospital, and I preferred working in a small community setting, like here." She said.

"How deep is the wound?" He asked.

"It's pretty bad." She answered.

"Could you make sure he stays awake? Do you know if he hit his head?" Jin asked.

"I don't know." I heard her answer. She was out of my line of vision now. I didn't like that.

"Owen," Jin finally turned to me, the actual patient. "Do you remember if you hit your head?"

"No, just my side." Owen I told him. Goddess my voice sounded pathetic. I was about to clear my throat or something when I felt a familiar pair of hands reach out and grasp mine. Maybe being injured wasn't such a bad thing after all…

"Okay, Owen, I'm going to stitch you up. I'll try to work quickly, but the pain will only last for a bit." Jin took a turn cleaning out the wound. He wasn't nearly as gentle as Ariadne had been and I couldn't help the gasp of pain.

Ariadne let go of my hand and I panicked for a minute. Where was she going? She hurried over to the other side of the bed and held my other hand. She brought her free hand to my face and locked gazes.

"Don't leave." I begged her. She smiled.

"I'm not going to." She promised. I relaxed.

It hurt when Jin stitched the wound up, but Ariadne was an excellent distraction. I didn't care what Gramps or Luke or Dale thought. I never thought I would be one of those guys who was 'nauseatingly cute' with his girlfriend, but with Ariadne, I just couldn't help it. Besides, I was in pain. I think having her dote on me a bit was fair.

Soon enough, Jin was done. He covered the wound and taped up a few of the worse scrapes on my body.

"I'm going to examine the rest of his body." Jin told everyone else, "If you could just give him a bit of privacy…"

Ariadne stood. No! Surely she didn't have to go?

"Don't go." I told her.

"I'm not leaving, I'll be just outside." She told me, "I'll come back in when Doctor Jin says it's okay."

She didn't give me much of a chance to argue before she left and closed the door behind her.

**A/N: Thanks for the review, punjabigrownbg! What can I say? I'm really enjoying myself!**


	12. Recovering

Ariadne did come back. And the day after that too. It felt… different, maybe a little weird, having her in my bedroom. We had never really hung out in each other's bedrooms before. I mean, we had spent some time in each other's houses when it was rainy, but I always assumed that bedrooms were unofficially off-limits.

And now I knew why.

Having her sitting with me in my bed, holding my hand and doting on me, it was… arousing. That was the only word I could think of to describe it. My heart beat like a drum and my loins hardened and tightened when she came too close. I liked having her in my bed, I wasn't going to deny that. I wanted her in my bed every night. I wanted to hold her close and safe in my arms. I tried to ignore the more sensual and graphic thoughts going through my mind, but it was difficult. If she noticed the bulge under the covers, she didn't let on.

The second day after the fall, I knew I probably wouldn't be able to handle another afternoon cuddled up with her in my bed while remaining a gentleman at the same time. Plus, I really was starting to feel better. Gramps wouldn't let me swing a hammer yet, but at least we could be outside, away from temptations. Mostly.

Luke had retrieved my bag of wonderfuls and ore from the mines and brought them to Mira for refining. Still no diamond. Lots of opals and crystals, but no diamond yet. Now it looked like at least another week before I could return to the mines and continue looking. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. I know we had only known each other two seasons and had been dating for half of that time, but I wanted her. I needed her to tell me she wanted to be with me forever and listen to her vow it for everyone to hear. At least I had the blue feather if all else failed. Still, I would feel bad doing it without the ring.

My birthday was a couple days after the accident. I wondered if she would remember, what with all the excitement and the end of the season meaning the harvest was almost ready. Gramps made me take a nap in the afternoon. I had been trying to hide how tired I was, but I couldn't get anything past Gramps. He knew me too well. Having an injury was exhausting, I couldn't wait until I was better.

When I woke up, Ariadne was there, sitting beside me against the headboard, knitting needles clicking away in her hands. How she found time to knit on top of the farm and me, I had no idea.

"Hey." I said, my voice groggy from sleep. I sat up slowly.

"Hey." She replied with a smile. She put her knitting down and leaned over to kiss me. Goddess, I thought as I felt that now familiar tightening in my groin. This might be harder than I thought.

"What are you making?" I gestured to the tangle of maroon yarn in her lap.

"Oh, I don't know." She shrugged. "Probably a scarf, I haven't decided yet."

I chuckled. "How long was I out for?"

"A couple hours." She answered. "Ramsey brought dinner in a while ago, I can heat it up if you like."

She threw her legs off the side of the bed to get up.

"No!" I exclaimed. She looked back, raising her eyebrows. "I mean, I'm not really hungry, just come back."

She grinned. "You know, you need to keep your nutrition up to help heal that wound."

"You're so smart." I smiled and kissed her again.

"That's a pretty necklace." I noticed the glimmer when we broke off.

"Thanks." She replied, touching the garnet. "Do you recognize the stone?"

"No… is that the one I gave you?" I thought I recognized it. "It's a sun. Was there any reason behind that?"

"Because you're my sunshine!" She grinned. I groaned, so cheesy. I loved her more than anything.

"Hey, I've got something for you." She said. She reached over the edge of the bed and handed me a package wrapped in brown paper. "Happy birthday!"

"I was starting to think you forgot." I said, reaching for the package. "You really didn't have to, you know."

"You mean too much to me. Of course I'm going to get you a present on your birthday." I smiled. She was too wonderful. I couldn't believe she wanted to be with me, of all people.

I opened the package, it was a green sweater.

"Hey, this is nice." He I told her. "Thanks, my old one got ripped up in the accident."

"Ariadne?" I hadn't noticed Gramps in the doorway. "It's getting late, Owen needs to rest."

"Okay, no problem." She started collecting her knitting and packing it away. No! She just got here! Well, she got here a while ago, I had just been asleep and she was too nice to wake me up. Wait a second, I had already gotten enough rest. It couldn't be that late, could it?

"You'll be back tomorrow, right?" I asked her.

"I don't know, I have a lot to do, things are getting busy. I'll try." She answered.

"Don't worry about it. I forgot you had so much to do." I said, my heart sinking just a little bit.

"I'm glad you understand. But I will try, promise." She bent down to kiss me, something I'm sure she meant to do quickly, but I reacted just as fast and grabbed her arms, keeping her on me. I didn't care that Gramps was watching. He should have known not to call bedtime so early.

"If I might not see you tomorrow, I'm going to need one more." I told her. She grinned and let me kiss her again.

"Okay, now I really have to go, otherwise your grandfather will get on my case." She laughed then hurried out before I could say anything else.

"What was that for?" I asked Gramps as soon as I heard the front door close.

"She may be young and oblivious, but I'm not." He gestured to the bulge I had been trying to hide under the covers.

"Gramps!" I exclaimed, throwing a pillow on my lap.

"Look, Owen." He came in a sat next to me on the bed. Oh goddess, was he going to give me the sex talk? Now? He couldn't have picked a worse time.

"Gramps! I already know about what happens when you get married and where babies come from and all that stuff." I wished I was anywhere but here.

"I know you know." He assured me. "I just want you to know that it's natural what's happening to you. It's part of being a man. Just promise me you'll keep it in your pants until after you're married."

"I promise!" I said quickly. Anything to get away from this.

"Hey, it could be worse." He shrugged. "Luke could be here right now."

I managed a nervous chuckle. "Yeah."

"I'll heat your dinner up." Gramps stood up. "You can come to the table for dinner."

Needless to say, as much as I enjoyed having Ariadne dote on me, I didn't stay in bed any longer. My wound had mostly healed. Well, it wasn't bleeding anymore, Dr Jin said I still couldn't really exert myself, but by the end of the season, I was anyway. It didn't hurt so much, and the stitches stayed intact, which was all that really mattered. Besides, the sooner I found a diamond, the sooner Ariadne and I could get married.

Toby and Renee got married at the end of the summer. As with every wedding on Castanet, the entire island came to celebrate. But this was the first wedding I actually had a date to.

I had a great time, it felt so nice to have an excuse to hold her close when we were dancing for everyone to see. I didn't want there to be any doubt that she was mine. Even if it wasn't official yet. It would be soon enough.

As with most weddings, I drank a bit more than usual, but something about the alcohol that night was different. I felt strange, but I chalked it up to anxiety. I knew Gramps was right about me wanting Ariadne and all I wanted was to marry her. Not just because I wanted to have sex with her, but because I wanted to be certain she would be with me for the rest of our lives. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to have sex with her, I wanted that more than almost anything else. But there was more to it than that. So I drank a bit more, to calm my nerves, I told myself.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.


	13. Broken

**A/N: Hey, so since this part of the story is already in Owen's point of view, I thought I would write it from Ariadne's this time around. If you want to read it from Owen's, check out chapter 14 of I Want to Protect You.**

The rooster crowed.

I didn't want to get out of bed. Getting out of bed seemed too overwhelming for today. I didn't want to go outside and see people. There wasn't usually a lot of traffic on the road in front of my house, but I didn't want anyone to see me and I didn't want to see anyone.

Most of all, him.

I didn't know what I was supposed to think. All I knew was that I was devastated. I loved him. Was that even a good idea anymore? It was like I didn't even know him. He had always told me that he wanted me to feel safe, but last night I had felt anything but.

I didn't want to think about it. I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep for a few hours.

The rooster crowed again.

I sighed and swung my legs out of bed. If the rooster was up, everyone was up and I had no chance of getting back to sleep even if I tried. I threw on the first clothes I saw, grabbed a banana and headed for the barn.

I was not moving my fastest that morning. Owen had always been the reason to get my work done quickly, but I definitely did not want to see him today. All I wanted was to crawl back into bed.

I led my animals out into the field and sighed again at the massive field I had to harvest and water. I just wanted to curl into a ball and cry. That is if I had any tears left.

Molly bellowed, startling me.

"Molly!" I called, looking up. Then I saw the reason she bellowed. "Oh."

Owen was here. My heart ached as soon as I saw him. I wanted to run to him, I wanted him to wrap his arms around me and tell me everything was going to be okay. But I couldn't do that. He was the reason I was feeling like this in the first place.

"Ariadne…" He started. I waited for him to go on. "I'm so sorry about what happened last night. It was really, really uncharacteristic of me."

I sighed yet again. "Owen, you were a completely different person last night. I'm just scared that was the real you I saw and you've been putting on a show for the past two seasons."

"No!" He said quickly. "I've been nothing but myself ever since I met you!"

"Then why couldn't you stop talking about how pretty Kathy was last night? And then had the nerve to ask me to sleepover two minutes later?" I retorted quietly. He took a tentative step forward. I let him. But I couldn't let him get too close, then who knew what I would do? I was mad at him.

"Is that what I was talking about?" He smiled softly, taking another step forward. Why was he smiling? My heart clenched.

"Owen, you told me that you didn't care about looks." I reminded him. "I thought I had met someone who loved me for who I was and wouldn't leave me when someone better-looking came along."

"Ariadne!" He had tried to interrupt me. I gave him points for waiting until I had finished. "It's not like that, you see, Kathy gets this stuff from the Wizard…"

"You know what?" I stopped him. I wanted to believe him, I really did. But right now, I wasn't in the right frame of mind at all to trust him. "I don't want to hear it. I think I need some time by myself."

His mouth dropped open for a second before he pulled himself together again.

"Are you saying that you want to break up with me?" He asked. I looked away, nodding slowly.

"I just… feel like I don't even know you. The guy I saw last night was nothing like the guy I fell in love with. He scared me and made me feel uncomfortable. I just want time to think and try to figure this all out." I had to be honest with him. If his presence here was anything, it was confirmation to me that I wanted us to work out, I wanted us to be okay, but I just couldn't believe him right now. I had to be honest if there was any hope of us working out.

He was quiet.

"Ariadne…" He started. I interrupted.

"I know you have an explanation, but I don't know if I can believe you right now." I told him.

He took a couple steps closer so he was directly in front of me. He reached for my hands, I pulled them away.

"Please." He whispered, "Don't do this."

I looked up at him, desperately wanting to believe him, I wanted to ignore this pain, forget all about it and go back to the way things were. But everything was different now, and I knew it would be stupid to ignore it.

"Owen, I just need some space. I still love you, I just need to figure out if loving you is a wise idea." I whispered.

"Ariadne, you will never see the person you saw last night again. I promise you." He said earnestly.

That was it. I lost it. I couldn't stop he tears anymore.

"Please." I told him, "Just go."

He sighed, his eyes still boring into mine. I looked away.

"Hey!" A shrill voice called. I turned. It was Luna. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Luna, we were just talking." I told her. Owen took a step back and I immediately missed his proximity.

"I don't care, he hurt you last night." She hurried over to stand between me and Owen. "He doesn't have any right to be here."

"Luna…" I said, unsure of what to say next. I wished for the millionth time that last night had never happened.

"You heard her, go home." Waved her hands at Owen. He sighed, ran his hands through his hair, took one last glance at me and then walked away.

**A/N: Sorry this one was a bit shorter, that's really all there is to this part and I don't want to have multiple POVs in one chapter, things just get confusing! Reviews are always welcome ****J**


	14. A Week

**A/N: So I realize there might be some confusion concerning what happened from Owen's perspective the night of Toby and Renee's wedding. I don't know how many people are reading this that haven't read I Want To Protect You, so I can understand how this might be confusing, but Owen doesn't remember what happened. I'm sorry if it's confusing!**

I was a mixture between furious and distraught as I walked home. I was furious with myself for letting this happen. I was mad at Kathy for using that stupid love potion again, why would she even do it? She knew I was with Ariadne. She had even given me advice on how to get her. I did not understand girls and I didn't pretend like I did, but this was way more confusing than anything I had ever had to deal with.

"How'd it go?" Luke called as I got back to the Garmon Mine District. He hurried over and walked with me when I made no more to slow down or stop.

"She doesn't think she can trust me." I looked back towards the ocean, plans already formulating on how I could win her trust back.

Luke was quiet for a second. "I don't really know what to say, man."

"Why didn't you drag me out of there like you did that night I kissed her in the bar? You had no trouble with that!" I was getting angry, something that hardly ever happened, but I didn't know how else to handle the situation.

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly. "I didn't know how bad it actually was until she hit you."

I stopped in my tracks and ran my hands through my hair.

"It was that stupid love potion." I said. "Ariadne said I was obsessing over Kathy last night, it had to be that love potion. Why would Kathy even try to pull something like that? I thought she wanted me to be with Ariadne."

He was quiet again. "I don't know." He said after a moment. "It doesn't make any sense. Do you want me to talk to Kathy?"

I thought about it. "Yeah, I want to find out what happened and I'm not in the right frame of mind to confront her. I'm going to the mines."

"Wait, Owen!" Luke ran after me as I walked to the mines. I ignored him. "It's going to be okay, I know it probably feels like the end of the world now, but you guys love each other too much for something stupid like this to get in the way."

I was only half listening to him. I didn't want to be around people right now. Not Luke, not Gramps, not even Chloe. Mining was the only thing I could do alone where I was sure I wouldn't get disturbed. My heart clenched when I realized Ariadne had always kept me company for the past couple of seasons. Oh well, she obviously didn't want anything to do with me, so I doubted she would show up.

But as I descended deeper and deeper into the mine, I realized I wanted her to come and find me. I liked things to way they were, I never wanted them to be like this, all broken and hurting. I wanted them to stay the way they were… forever.

I gave my head a shake and turned to the nearest rock.

"Owen?" A small voice called after I don't even know how long. I had been so absorbed in pounding rocks and trying hard to ignore the pain and not think about anything that I hadn't heard anyone approach.

"Yes, Chloe?" I put the hammer down and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" She looked so worried. Much more worries than any 6-year-old should be. Well, seven now, I realized that I had already forgotten her birthday which had been just two days ago. I sighed. I wasn't going to lie to her, no way. If anyone deserved the truth, she did.

"No, not really." I told her. She walked over slowly and wrapped her arms around my legs. I froze. I hadn't expected that. I bent down and hugged her properly. She squeezed me tight.

"Luke said you and Ariadne had a fight." She said.

"Yeah, we did." I replied.

"Are you going to apologize?" She asked. I sighed again, let her go and looked her in the eyes. She was so young and innocent, she couldn't even to begin to understand how I felt for Ariadne, and how badly I had messed things up between us.

"I tried." I said.

"She didn't forgive you?" She asked.

"No." I replied.

"Is that why you're down here?" She asked, "Are you trying to find a diamond?"

I felt my heart in my throat. The diamond. To be honest, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind the entire time I had been in the mines this afternoon. I couldn't give up on her, I knew that. Deep down, I realized that it only made sense to keep looking. This emptiness wasn't going to last forever.

The simple thought lifted my spirits considerably. What Ariadne and I had was stronger than this stupid fight. I would give her some space, let her figure things out. If I knew her like I thought I did, she would realize this was ridiculous and come back to me. If not, I would win her back the hard way.

"I brought food, you missed dinner." Chloe didn't pester me for an answer to her question, which surprised me. She just handed me a paper bag.

"How about we head back up and eat this together?" I smiled for the first time all day.

"Yay!" She grinned and jumped up and down. I chuckled as I packed up my things, took her hand and together, we headed back to the surface.

I was in a much better mood when we sat down to dinner, definitely not as good as I usually was, but better. Gramps didn't mention it, I was glad he didn't, I didn't know how long this would last, and I didn't know what would send me barrelling into that depression again.

Luke stopped by after Chloe was in bed. Well, more like launched himself through the front door.

"What's going on?" I stood up from my seat at the kitchen table.

"I just saw Ariadne." He said.

"How is she?" I hurried over.

"She's in rough shape, she misses you." He replied.

"How do you know that?" I asked. Luke could exaggerate, I knew that better than anyone.

"Because she told me!" He laughed.

"In those exact words?" I raised my eyebrows at him. He sighed.

"I told her you miss her and she said she misses you too." He explained. I started heading for the front door, my heart in my throat. She missed me. I had to go see her. Could this whole thing be behind us already?

"Wait! Where are you going?" Luke jumped in front of me, blocking my path.

"I'm going to go see her. I miss her and apparently, she misses me too!" I couldn't even really be annoyed with him. I was too relieved.

"She said she wants to give it a week." He replied. That stopped me. My heart sank for the thousandth time that day.

"Why?" I demanded.

"Something about wanting to sort some things out first." She explained.

"What things?" I asked, still poised to leap out the door.

"I don't know, she didn't say." He shrugged. "Listen, Owen. She's had a rough go of it, she's not in great shape. Just let her be for a week, I'm pretty sure it won't kill you. Then you can go back to her."

"For once, he's right, Owen." Gramps agreed. "You won't be doing yourself any favours by going against what she wants."

I groaned, ran my hands through my hair and sat back down.

"What am I supposed to do now?" I asked.

"I don't know!" Luke rolled his eyes, "Whatever it was you did before Ariadne moved here."

"You're no help." I told him.

"It's been a long day, Owen." Gramps jumped in before Luke could retort. "You're caked in dirt, how about you get cleaned up and go to bed."

"Fine." I stood up again. To be honest, I was surprised Gramps had even let me sit down at the dinner table without showering first. I was a lot filthier than I normally was, but then again, I hadn't been working as hard as I was today.

I locked the bathroom door behind me and stripped. I sighed as the warm water soothed muscles that I hadn't realized been so sore. I didn't care. I had bigger things to worry about than sore muscles.

So a week it was. I had no idea how I was going to make it.


	15. The Diamond

Wake up, mine, eat, sleep. That was all I did. I couldn't even work the forges anymore. I didn't want to be around people, and I especially didn't want to run the risk of running into her in case she came in. Deep down, I knew she wouldn't stop by if she was a hurt as Luke said she would. Still, I didn't want to take any chances.

So I mind, once again with the purpose of finding that diamond. That was what kept me going. This wasn't going to last forever. She would come back and everything would be fine again. I had no idea how I lived before she moved to the island. This was hell. The mining also helped distract me, and by the end of the day, I was too exhausted to think.

Luke had talked to Kathy a couple days ago. He came back saying she had meant to put the stuff in someone else's drink, but she wouldn't say whose. Luke was clueless but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who she meant. She should have told Luke, that would have been easier than trying to drug him. Why didn't everyone just say how they felt instead of keeping everything hidden? That would save a lot of people a lot of pain. Myself and Ariadne included.

"Owen, come up and have some supper." Chloe came down to tell me. I stood up straight and wiped the sweat dripping from my brow.

"Phew, that's hard work." I told her. I hadn't realized how late it was. It felt like we had just eaten lunch, but I soon realized how famished I was. I packed up my stuff, took Chloe's hand and we walked back to the surface together.

"Get in the shower before dinner, Owen, you're filthy!" Gramps told me as soon as I walked in.

I had no problems with that. The warm water would feel good on my aching muscles. I would just have to pray that I could stay awake long enough for dinner. I dumped my ore and wonderfuls on Mira's counter before I headed for the bathroom.

The warm water did feel good and I had to drag myself out of the shower as soon as the water started running clear again. It always amazed me how dirty I could get from a day in the mines. I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed for my room. My heart jolted when I realized the only clean sweater I had was the one Ariadne had given me for my birthday. I desperately searched my room for something else clean, but I had been slacking on my laundry, and this was the only thing I had that was clean. I pulled it on along with a pair of not-so-dirty jeans and headed for the dinner table.

"Owen!" Mira called me from her counter. I walked over. Dinner smelled so good, I hoped this would be quick. "Look what I've got."

I leaned against the counter and examined the clear gem she offered me. I heart caught in my throat when I realized what it was.

A diamond.

I looked up at Mira. She was grinning.

"Congratulations, all your hard work has paid off." She said, patting my shoulder.

"But-" I started.

"But nothing!" Mira interrupted me. "She's already yours, it won't be long before realizes that."

"Owen, dinner!" Gramps called from the kitchen.

Wordlessly, I walked over to the dinner table, the diamond was still in my hand, I couldn't seem to take my eyes off it. This diamond _was_ going to be on Ariadne's finger, whether she knew it or not. I shoved it in my pocket quickly and took a seat.

Chloe's chatter was usually a good distraction from my thoughts, but tonight, it just didn't seem to be working. My thoughts were on the diamond in my pocket. I had promised myself a while ago that the day I got the diamond would be the day I proposed. I had never dreamed that the day would come and Ariadne and I wouldn't be speaking. I still wanted to propose more than anything, but it was doubtful now that she would say yes. I guess I still had to get Mira to put it in a ring. That could take a couple days.

After dinner, Gramps took Chloe to get ready for bed. I wanted to go to bed too, but I knew it was still too early. And my mind wouldn't stop whirling. I just wanted it all to stop.

I groaned when I heard someone pounding on the front door. Gramps called for me to get the door. I was in no state to entertain people right now. Everyone knew we were closed and Luke just barged right on in. I had no idea who this could possibly be, all I knew was that I did not want to deal with them.

As soon as I opened the door, I was tackled. I was shocked for a minute, I hadn't been expecting that. But my heart skipped a beat when I realized it was Ariadne. She had come back. And she was crying! Who had made her cry? I was going to kill whoever it was. I wrapped my arms tight around her and held her close.

"It's okay, Ariadne, everything's going to be okay." I soothed her.

I stepped out onto the porch and closed the front door behind me. I pulled her down to sit with me at the edge of the porch. I still couldn't believe she was here. It felt like forever since I last held her in my arms. I didn't want to let her go. I reached into my pocket and felt the diamond and I knew everything was going to be okay. I wrapped an arm around her. No way was I ever going to let her go again.

"Owen…" She was still crying and my heart broke for her.

"It's okay, Ariadne, just try to calm down." I told her. She took a couple of deep breaths before she went on.

"I've been such a jerk to you, Owen! I know what really happened and I'm so sorry for overreacting." Her voice was steadier this time. I held her a bit tighter and sucked a breath in. No way was she blaming herself for what had happened.

"Ariadne." I started. "You had every right to act like you did. I acted like an idiot and made you feel scared. I promised myself I would never let you feel scared, let alone be the cause of it. I screwed up and I really hope you can forgive me."

"But it wasn't your fault!" She persisted. I wished she wouldn't. I didn't need explanations, I just wanted things to go back to the way they were. "Kathy told me she put something in your drink."

"It doesn't matter. I should have known not to drink so much." I told her.

"Owen," She took a deep breath. "I can forgive you if you can forgive me."

"Okay, deal." I didn't even hesitated before answering. I was grinning like an idiot now. "Hey, Ariadne."

"What?" She turned her head just like I hoped she would. I caught her lips with mine and immediately relaxed against them. I had missed this more than anything. I had no idea how much I enjoyed kissing before I actually did it. With her. She was the only one I had ever kissed and the only one I ever wanted to kiss from now on.

I wrapped my other arm around her and pulled her even more securely against me. With the way she was kissing me back, it was as if nothing had changed between us. She still loved me. She was still mine and I was still hers.

"I missed that." I whispered when we broke apart. I didn't wait for an answer before I leaned back in.

"So did I." She answered, I could feel her grin though the kisses.

"I love you, Ariadne." I breathed, leaning my forehead against hers and staring into those beautiful blue eyes I had missed so much.

"I love you more." She argued. I grinned. I could have argued right back but I didn't want to. I was just too happy.

"Shut up and kiss me." I whispered. She grinned and tilted her head to reach my lips.

I was starting to get dark by the time we finally broke apart. I had missed her more than I realized now that I had her back in my arms. But wasn't anywhere near ready to let her go home for the night.

"Want to look at the stars with me?" I asked. He smiled with her swollen lips and I felt a wave of possessiveness. I had done that to her, she was mine. Forever, if I had anything to say about it.

"Yeah." She answered, running her hand over my cheeks. "You haven't shaved in a while, have you?"

I tried to think of the last time I had shaved. Probably before our fight. I had a decent bit of scruff going on.

"I guess not." I answered with a shrug. She just grinned.

"I'm going to have some wicked beard burn in the morning." She said.

"Good, then everyone will know we're back together." I replied, returning her grin. She laughed.

I stood and offered her my hand. We went up the stairs to the old blacksmith's house and laid down on our backs to look up at the stars. We were quiet for a few minutes, holding hands and just being close. I wanted to know everything that had happened since we last talked, but for now, I was pretty happy just being quiet and with her. Besides, we were pretty close to the real blacksmith's chimney and I knew Gramps and Chloe would be able to hear everything we said.

"I never knew I could feel this way before." I mused softly.

"Feel like what?" She asked, turning on her side to face me.

"Like my happiness depends on yours." I elaborated, "I mean, when you were upset with me for those things I said when I was drunk, I was crushed. I couldn't eat or sleep, I was so angry with myself for being the cause of your unhappiness. But when I see you smile, it's like there's no one else in the world and I feel so happy."

She smiled and I took the opportunity to hoist her on top of me to cuddle.

"Owen," She said slowly, resting her head on my chest and playing with my sweather."There's another reason I was really upset after you said those things."

"What's that?" I tightened my hold on her.

She sighed and took a deep breath before she went on.

"Last year, on my birthday, my friends took me out to a bar. I turned nineteen, which meant that I was legally allowed to drink. They had all been legal by that point and I had always felt left out whenever they talked about the nights they had spent getting drunk and I was so excited to finally see if what they had told me was true.

"So we got there, I was wearing a short, low-cut dress and was so excited to get going. We had shots and cocktails and then we left our drinks at the bar and started dancing. I was having the time of my life. It was even better than what my friends had described. We eventually decided to take a break and headed back to our drinks. Then things got a little fuzzy.

"I remember not feeling so well and my friends laughing and telling me it was the alcohol and trying to convince me to dance with them again. But somehow I stayed behind on the bar stool. The next thing I remember, I was in a van I didn't recognize with three guys I didn't know, they were trying to take my clothes off."

She sounded close to tears again and I wordlessly rubbed her back and shoulders. My heart was breaking for her. I couldn't believe what she had been through. I didn't blame her now when she said she didn't have a great past with bars. It was wonder she could even still go in them! I pressed my lips to her neck, trying to communicate that everything was okay and she was back where she belonged, safe with me.

"Thankfully, my friends noticed I was gone and found me before things got worse. They took me to the hospital and the doctors found roofies in my blood system. Which is a drug that people put in other's people's drinks. It makes them dizzy and disoriented. I had been weak and I couldn't fight them off, I was so thankful that my friends found me on time. But the whole experience changed me. It was a while before I could trust guys again and I didn't go near a bar for another season.

"So that's why I got so upset when you were drunk the other night." She finished. It took me a minute before I could figure out what to say to that.

"Ariadne, I'm glad you told me this." I told her. "And I want you to know that I would never take advantage of you, no matter what the circumstances are. I love you and you can trust me."

"Thanks for listening, Owen." She smiled despite the tears and pressed her lips to mine again.

I would never get tired of her kissed. I reacted immediately and pulled her closer, kissing her with everything I felt for her.


	16. Secrets

The next morning, I returned the diamond to Mira and she helped me pick a ring to put it in. She said it would be ready by the Moon Viewing Festival. Then that would be the day I asked her to marry me. There was a definite spring to my step that even I could feel as I went about my day. Ariadne was back in my life, I would never take her for granted ever again.

Despite my efforts to be quiet last night with her, Gramps had got the gist of what happened, even Chloe had understood that we were back together.

"Have you thought about how you're going to ask her?" Gramps asked as I worked the forges and he stood behind the counter.

"To marry me?" I asked, putting the hammer down. Chloe squealed and hurried over from the kitchen table where she had been drawing to cling to my leg.

"You're going to ask Ariadne to marry you?" She exclaimed. I laughed and picked her up.

"Of course I am!" I told her. "That's the next step to getting married, remember?"

"When?" She clapped her hands together, "When, when?"

"It's a surprise." I told her. Chloe couldn't keep a secret, everyone knew that. No way was she finding out when I was proposing until after the fact.

"Aw! No fair!" She pouted. I laughed again.

"You have to keep it a secret." I told her. "But it will be soon, I found the diamond, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" She smiled again. She wriggled free of my arms and dropped to the floor, scurrying back to her colouring.

"So, have you thought about it?" Gramps asked when Chloe was settled again.

"No…?" I replied. Judging from the look he was giving me, I knew this was something I had to have thought about. "Is that important?"

"Women remember things like that." Gramps explained. "You have to make it special for them, it's an important milestone in their lives. Yours too."

I ran my hands through my hair. I hadn't thought of that. I just thought I would get down on one knee, pop the question and everything would turn out alright. Now that I thought about it, I realized Gramps was right. I had to somehow make it special for both Ariadne and I. I thought that just the fact that I was asking her to marry me would make it special enough, I guess not anymore.

All I knew for sure was that I was going to do it during the Moon Viewing Festival. One of my favourite things to do with Ariadne was watching the moon and stars, and the moon would be as close as it came to the Earth during the festival. And I sure wasn't going to wait another day longer to propose. As soon as I had that ring, I wasn't wasting any more time. Were together again and after our talk last night, I knew that things weren't only back to normal between us, they were better than ever.

I had to admit, the idea of popping the question in front of the entire village was not appealing to me. Gramps said that it had to be special, to me, that meat it would just be the two of us. I drew up a map of Flute Fields in my mind and searched for any private place Ariadne and I could watch the Festival from. Few came to mind, and those were already unofficially reserved by other couples.

But then again, there was no rule saying that the festival _had_ to be observed from Flute Fields. You could see the moon from pretty much anywhere on the island. I briefly considered watching them from Ariadne's fields, but they were on the way to Flute Fields. And kind of close to the road. I wanted to make sure there was no chance of us being interrupted.

You could see the sky pretty well from the plateau where the old miner's cottage was. That was definitely out of the way, no one would interrupt us there! And it was one of our favourite places to hang out. Ariadne had always admired that run-down old cottage.

As soon as I had the idea, I couldn't imagine us living anywhere else. I knew for sure I wouldn't be staying with Gramps and Chloe after I was married. Ariadne and I would want to be on our own, have a little privacy. And I would feel weird moving in with Ariadne, into the home she had already established for herself. I would feel like I was invading her space.

No, we needed a place to call _ours._ Not _hers_ or _mine_, but _ours._ A place where we could put down our own roots together. The miner's cottage was perfect! I would have to pay town hall a visit to scope it out. Gramps paid me a fair wage, and since I lived with him and ate his food, I had quite a bit of money saved. I hadn't had a reason to spend it. I just hoped it would be enough for a house! Even an old, rundown house like that cottage. Even then, I would have to hire Luke, Dale and Bo to help me fix it up, and I'd have to furnish it. But it would all be worth it!

I was getting ahead of myself. I gave my head a mental shake. I didn't even have the ring yet and I was already planning out our future. I needed to clear my head.

I mumbled something about heading to the mines to Gramps as I grabbed my hammer and left the shop. Mining always helped me think straight. Or at least it made me too exhausted to think at all. I would go visit Ariadne after work. She always knew how to calm me down, even if she was the reason I was all flustered in the first place. But she didn't have to know that.

I had only been down for about an hour or so, when I heard a set of footsteps on the stairs. I straightened and wiped my brow just in time to see Ariadne appear. I smiled and quickly closed the distance between us, dropping my hammer on the way.

"I missed you." She said simply after I kissed her. I grinned.

"I missed you, too." I replied, bending down to kiss her again.

"No… I mean… _really_… missed you." She said between kisses. I took that as a good sign. I was, after all, planning on proposing in a couple of days. It was nice to know my odds were good. She took a small step back. I was disappointed, but realized soon enough that she just wanted to talk.

"I've never missed anyone like I've missed you these past few days." She went on, her eyes wide. I wanted to wrap my arms tight around her and assure her that she never had to feel that way ever again, but I knew I had to let her get it out. "I love you, Owen. So much. So much… it hurts sometimes! I just don't want to take you for granted. I want you to know that you're so amazing, so kind and gentle, caring, loving, strong… you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

At that point, I scooped her up into my arms, holding her as tight as I dared. I wished more than anything that I had that ring right now. If ever there was a perfect moment to propose, this was it. I didn't want to wait a minute longer to make her mine.

I took me a minute to realize she was crying. Her body was shaking. Instinctively, I rubbed her back, mumbling soft words in her ears at the same time.

"It's okay, I'm here." I told her.

"I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I'm happy!" She grinned up at me. "Goddess, I hope you don't think I'm some emotional wreck! I just wanted to tell you how I feel."

"I don't think you're an emotional wreck." I assured her. "You mean so much to me too. I love you! Ha," I rubbed the back of my neck, my cheeks going red for sure. "You just caught me off guard, I don't really know what to say except that I love you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, too. You mean more to me than anything else in the world."

"Oh, Owen." She smiled and snuggled back into me. I didn't complain, I just wrapped my arms around her contentedly.

She would just have to wait a couple more days. And they would be agonizing days I knew, for me at least. But then she would know exactly how I feel. And it would be the start of our forever together. I wanted more than anything that it could be today, right now. But I didn't even have the blue feather on me, and Ariadne deserved to have a proper marriage proposal.

But if there was one thing I knew now that I didn't before, it was that I _definitely_ needed to work on that proposal. I had to figure out some way to put my feelings into words, something I was not good at doing at all. But it would be far worth it in the end. Just picturing my ring on her finger was enough to send my stomach into somersaults. I had never felt this possessive about anything in my entire life, I was desperate to make her mine.

How was I ever going to make it?


	17. The Moon Viewing Festival

I tried to pull myself together over the next couple of days. I had to figure out what to say to Ariadne to make the proposal special. I was still convinced that just the fact that I was asking her to marry me would be special and memorable enough, but I also didn't want to screw it up.

I went over thoughts and ideas in my head and wrote some of the better ones down. I couldn't practice with Gramps though, because then Chloe would know what was going on. I would have preferred Gramps' help, because my only other option was Luke, and he was no help at all. He kept pretending to be Ariadne and rejecting every proposal I tried. And then laughing about it after, which wasn't doing much for my nerves.

Through all my inner turmoil the day came and I remembered I had to go down to Ariadne's farm to actually invite her to the festival. Well, I had a bit of help. Mira called me over to her counter one morning to show me her progress on the ring. I could tell she was putting her heart and soul into the piece, but if I was honest, I didn't really care so much what it looked like, I just hoped Ariadne would like it! It was pretty though, the design was intricate yet simple and I found myself wishing for a second that I had picked a simpler design so it could have been done sooner. But I knew in the end, I would be pleased with the result. And she assured me it would be done by tonight.

I decided to mine a bit, even though it was a day off. It would help relieve some of my stress. I had hardly had any sleep last night, I was so worked up about tonight. And now the day was finally here. If I had it my way, we could be married in a week. Heck, we would be married tomorrow, who needed a big wedding?

I was planning on going down to Ariadne's before lunch, but she surprised me by finding me first in the mines. She seemed so at ease, I envied her. If she had any idea of how nervous I was…

So with sweaty palms, a racing heart and my hands wringing together, I found my courage and asked her. I couldn't believe I was already this anxious and just to invite her to the festival!

"So, the Moon Viewing Festival is tonight." I started. There was no way I could swing my hammer now. My mind was on everything but mining, I knew I would only end up hurting myself.

"Yeah, I saw it on my calendar, what's it all about?" She asked. She was having no trouble pounding away at the rocks, and she didn't seem to notice that I wasn't. Good, hopefully it would stay that way.

"It's the night of the year where the moon is closest to the Earth, so everyone goes to watch it at Flute Fields. But everyone goes to Flute Fields." I added quickly. She looked up at me. I went on. "I was thinking that maybe we could go somewhere else."

"Why? Don't feel like being with the other villagers?" She grinned.

"No, I just want to be alone with you without anyone interrupting." I might as well be honest. I finally looked into her eyes with no immediate plans to look away. Goddess, everything about this woman was captivating.

"Where did you have in mind?" She asked.

"That spot right in front of that house you like." I told her.

"But that's right behind your house, won't your family be able to hear what we're saying?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"No, my Grandpa thinks Chloe's old enough stay up late enough for the whole festival this year, so he's taking her to Flute Fields." I explained. That was part of the truth. The other part being how I practically begged him to get Chloe away for the night.

"Oh," She said, "Okay, well let's do it."

"Great!" It felt like part of the weight on my chest had been lifted. She had agreed to meet me. Now there was only the hard part left.

I still had no idea exactly how I was going to ask her. All I knew for sure was that 'will you marry me?' would be in there somewhere. Maybe the right words would come at the time. I didn't want to chance it though, I excused myself for lunch. I wanted to stay with her more than anything, but I also needed to prepare for tonight, the night that would ensure she stayed with me forever.

After lunch, Chloe went outside to play and I took advantage of the opportunity to ask Gramps what he thought of my proposal ideas.

He turned out to be much more helpful than Luke. Surprise, surprise. By the time Chloe came back inside, I was feeling much better about tonight.

"Owen, it's ready." Mira called from the back room, where her workshop was. I was glad Chloe was in her room and hadn't heard. I was already nervous enough without Chloe getting all excited. I hurried into the room where she was examining the ring under a magnifying glass. She turned and smiled softly when I approached. She removed her reading glasses and handed me the ring.

I turned it over in my palm. It _was_ really pretty, even an oblivious guy like me could tell you that. The diamond was what Mira called an oval cut and the band was silver. There were faint but intricate patterns on the band itself, something called filigree. It suited her. This was a ring I would be proud to see Ariadne wear. But mostly because it meant she was mine.

"It's beautiful, Mira." I told her.

"She deserves it, Owen." She simply smiled. "_You_ deserve it."

"Thanks." I looked at her.

"Good luck tonight." She stood and patted me on the back. I slipped the ring in my pocket and headed for the kitchen, where Gramps was starting to prepare dinner for the festival tonight. He promised He would make enough for me and Ariadne, but I wanted to help. As did Chloe.

With all of us working together, laughing and having family time, I calmed down considerably. This would be one of the last times I had with my family like this. Ariadne would be my family, and we would start our own traditions with our own children. I had to grin at the thought of having children with Ariadne. I had never thought about it before, unless Chloe brought it up, but if I was going to have a wife, I was only too happy to have kids, too. More than happy. I loved children, having my own would be an adventure.

That is, if she said yes. Not to sound cocky, but I liked the way my odds looked.

It seemed like before I knew what was happening, Gramps and Chloe were heading out the door, leaving me with a second basket of food and my anxiety. She would be here soon, I had to hurry to get everything set up. I fingered the ring in my pocket. This was it.

I set up blankets and lanterns and a small table. Once I was sure everything looked perfect, I headed back down for the food. I couldn't help but reflect that this would be the last time in my house as a single man. If everything went according to plan tonight, I would be returning as an engaged man. The thought made my heart try to beat its way out of my chest, I was so excited. I retrieved the blue feather from my room and put it in my other pocket.

I didn't know if I was ready or not when I heard Ariadne on the stairs. Oh well, too late to turn back now! This was it.

"Owen, you didn't have to make me dinner." She said with a small smile when she took in the scene before her.

"It's part of the festival." I laughed nervously, "And I don't mind anyway."

I sat down and patted the ground beside me. She took a seat. She must have been able to hear my heart pounding. Normally, I would reach for her hand, but my palms were so sweaty, she would worry. I wiped them on my pants as she busied herself with the food.

"This is really good." She said after she took a bite, "I didn't know you could cook."

"I had a lot of help." I admitted, my face going dark for what I was sure as going to be the first time of many tonight.

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked. She was getting suspicious, I knew it. Normally, I was the first one to dig in to whatever we were eating. I chuckled nervously and picked up my bowl.

"Yeah, definitely." I assured her and started piling food into the bowl.

"The moon looks so close tonight." She said, smiling up at the heavens. "And I thought they were joking when they said tonight was the best night to see the moon."

"Yeah, and I was worried that it was going to be too cloudy." I answered. I sounded so lame! Couldn't I think of anything better to say? I decided it was probably better to keep my mouth shut in case I said something stupider, but she was quick to pick up on it. She kept shooting me those suspicious looks. I ran my hands through my hair when she wasn't looking. I had to do it. I had to do it now or I was going to lose it.

"Ariadne, there's something I need to tell you." I heard myself saying.

"Um… okay." She said, putting down her bowl and turning to face me. I had forgotten everything Gramps and I had talked about only a few hours before. It was just me now. Me and her. I touched the ring through my jeans and somehow, it gave me the courage to keep going.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, you know, about you and me." He reached out and took her hands as if she could somehow give me the courage to do this. "I've been thinking about whether or not it's too soon or too fast, but I think I've come to the right decision." Where was this coming from? I had no idea. But it sounded good, so I took another deep breath and kept going. "The time when we were away from each other was really hard for me to deal with, I mean a lot harder than I thought it would be to be away from anyone. I missed you more than I've ever missed anyone and it made me realize that I never want to be apart from you again."

As soon as it was out of my mouth, I knew it was true. This was what I had wanted to say to her the night after we got back together but hadn't known how to get it into words.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered that I was supposed to be on one knee. I quickly fixed that.

"Ariadne Phillips," I went on. "I promise to protect you and keep you safe from anything in this world that might hurt you. I love you like I never thought was possible to love anyone like, and I promise to love you for the rest of my life." One more deep breath. Moment of truth. "Will you marry me?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the blue feather. I honestly thought I was going for the ring, but I got the wrong pocket. I panicked for a second, but when I looked up at her, her eyes were shining. I held my breath, waiting for her answer.

"Of course I will!" She smiled and took the feather from my outstretched hand.

I grinned so wide, I thought my face would slip. _She said yes!_ She said _yes!_ She was going to be mine forever, we were going to get married! I stood and wrapped her tight in my arms and spun her around in circles. This was the happiest moment of my life! All my anxiety was gone and all I felt was this pure joy at the woman in my arms. She said yes! I couldn't help but laugh in relief. Then I remembered the ring.

"Well, that's good." He told her, putting her down and reaching into my other pocket. "Because I got you this too."

I held the ring out to her. Her mouth dropped open slightly and I grinned.

"Owen, what's this?" She looked up at me and asked. She was dumbstruck, she hadn't been expecting a ring.

"Renee told me that in the city, guys give a girl they want to marry a ring." I explained.

"But that's in the city!" She laughed.

"I know, but I wanted to give this to you. I mined the silver and diamond myself and had to make Chloe promise she wouldn't tell you." I said.

"Thank you, Owen." She said simply. I was still grinning. It would be hard to stop, I knew it.

"May I?" I held my hand out for the ring. She raised an eyebrow but gave me the ring back.

I had to ask Kathy about this part. I knew next to nothing about city traditions, but I wanted to get this one right. I took her left hand and slipped thing onto her third finger. She let out a little sigh. I looked back into her eyes.

"Owen, I'm so happy!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around me again. I was only too happy to hold her close and spin her around. It only seemed like the natural thing to do. We were getting married!

"When?" I asked after a couple minutes and we had settled down some. I led her back to the blanket and she sat down in my lap, both of us looking up at the moon, the only witness to our joy. "When do you want to get married, tomorrow? We can get married tomorrow if you like."

She giggled and have my hand a playful squeeze. "Anxious are we?"

"I'm just saying." I shrugged. I was half joking, half serious. I wanted to make her mine as soon as possible. The way she was settled so comfortably in my lap stirred something deep inside me, things that I had never felt for anyone until I met her. Almost as if on cue, I felt that tightening in my loins and heat starting to pool.

"Well, I think we should hold off for a couple weeks." She said. My heart sank just a bit. I hadn't _really_ expected her to take me seriously. A couple weeks was reasonable. That was how long couples usually waited to get married. "I want my family to be there."

Of course! Her family! "Yeah, that's fine." I assured her quickly.

"I know you're anxious to get married." She turned in my arms and kissed me gently. "I am too. But there's no pressing reason to get married, and I really _would_ like my family to be there. They deserve that much."

"Of course." I smiled. "I understand." I kissed her again. "We can worry about that tomorrow."

"Right." She leaned her forehead against mine. "Tonight is about us."

I grinned as she leaned back in.


	18. A Season to Wait

"She said yes!" I said, probably a bit louder than I should have, when I burst through the front door of the blacksmith's. "I'm getting married!"

Almost immediately, there was a commotion. Gramps stood up from his cup of coffee at the kitchen table and Chloe squealed and hurried over, clinging to my leg in her pyjamas.

"You asked her to marry you?" She screeched. "You're getting married! Hurray!"

"Congratulations, son." Gramps hugged me and thumped my back. "There's no way she would have turned you down."

I laughed and bent over to pick Chloe up and swing her around the room. She squealed in delight.

"Where is she?" Gramps managed to ask over Chloe.

"I walked her home." I explained.

"Well, invite her over for lunch tomorrow. We have to celebrate!" He smiled.

"When? When are you getting married, Owen?" Chloe asked when I put her back down again.

"In a couple weeks probably." I shrugged. Then I laughed. "All we decided was that it's not going to be tomorrow."

"Aww, why not?" Chloe pouted. I laughed again.

"Because that's _too_ soon. We have to give her family time to get here." I explained.

At that moment, Luke burst through the front door.

"Are you alright? I heard screaming!" He puffed, obviously having ran all the way here.

"I'm getting married, man! She said yes!" I couldn't stop grinning. It took a moment for the words to sink in, but when they did, he grinned back.

"Congrats, man! There was never any doubt that she was gonna say yes." He clapped my shoulder. "So when's the big day?"

"Not sure yet." I replied. "I'll take her down to town hall tomorrow and we'll set a date. Soon, hopefully."

"She didn't go for the town hall ceremony with a couple of witnesses tomorrow the, did she?" He winked.

"Unfortunately." I still couldn't stop grinning, this was the happiest night of my life!

"Well, so long as all's well, I'll be on my way. I'll pass on the good news." Luke turned and left with a wave. I knew that even if Luke only passed the news on to his family, the whole island would know by this time tomorrow.

"Alright, I think that's enough excitement for one night." Gramps stifled a yawn. I looked at the old grandfather clock and realized it was past midnight. Gramps had been waiting up for me. "Bedtime, young lady."

"Aww." Chloe pouted again. But she was tired. It had been a long day for everyone.

I crawled into bed, not expecting to sleep a wink, I was so excited. But I hadn't slept at all last night because I had been so nervous, so it wasn't long before I drifted off.

I dreamt of that little girl again, the one I saw a couple seasons ago when I was watching Chloe sleep. This time, she was running around the Garmon Mine District and I had no doubt that it was Ariadne's daughter. She had the same curls that Ariadne did and her eyes were that same deep blue colour. However, the shade of her hair was almost a perfect match for mine. Could this little girl be Ariadne's and my future child?

I woke up excited and happier than I've been in a while. I hoped that my suspicions weren't wrong and Ariadne and I would one day have a little girl like the one in my dream. I would be over the moon excited if we had boys too, but something about that girl just seemed too real. She had been running around the Garmon Mine District for Goddess' sake!

I whistled my way through my chores, receiving lots of good wishes from the other villagers I ran into for my upcoming marriage. Marriage. I never would have thought I'd ever get married. There had never been anyone I wanted to get married to before. I probably would have been quite content to be a lifelong bachelor, take over Gramps' business one day, and maybe even pass it on to any family Chloe had in the future.

But Ariadne had changed that, that was for sure. I smiled again as I thought about having my own children. I had definitely not planned on having kids ever. How could I if I couldn't see myself married to anyone on the island?

I looked at the clock. She said she wanted to call her parents and tell them on her own. I offered to be there, but she had explained that it was something she had to do on her own. I could respect that. But I was anxious to take her to Town Hall to set a date. Hopefully she's made the call by now.

She wasn't in her fields as far as I could tell as I walked down the mountain. I hoped that meant she was done her chores and we could spend the rest of the day together. As I continued to watch, I saw her emerge from her house. I waved when she turned and saw me.

"Hey! Have you told your parents yet?" I asked.

"Um… we have a problem." She said softly. My heart stopped, but my legs couldn't seem to forget that they were on a mission. I wrapped an arm around her and steered her towards the path. "Uh, where are we going?"

"Town Hall, we need to book a date." I answered. "What's this problem?"

"My mother." She answered. Oh Goddess, I prayed with everything I had that her mother didn't object to the wedding.

"What is it? She doesn't want you to get married?" I asked trying as hard as I could not to sound as panicked as I was.

"No, it's not that." She replied quickly. I was so relieved, I laughed out loud.

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"She wants to plan our wedding." She said.

That was weird. Why would that be a problem? If anything, it could mean we could get married sooner with someone else helping to plan the wedding. Even if there wasn't much to plan in the first place.

"She'll get bored pretty quickly. There won't be much to plan." I told her.

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that." She went on, "In the city, weddings are a pretty good deal. They take months to plan and have hundreds of guests and flowers and food and bridesmaids…"

She was starting to freak out, and that was the last thing I wanted her doing, especially over our wedding. I did the only thing that made sense, and considering I hadn't kissed her yet today, it made perfect sense. I grabbed her shoulders, stepping in front of her and kissed her. It worked. I could feel her muscles relax as she concentrated on kissing me back.

"Then we'll have a big wedding." I whispered. "If that's what you want."

"I don't care." She replied, "I just want to get married."

"So do I, but I don't want to get on your mother's bad side before I even meet her." I reasoned.

"I guess that makes sense." She shrugged.

"It'll give the villagers something to talk about." I laughed. Weddings on Castanet were traditionally very low-key, not much time went into planning them, the only thing that really mattered was the marriage, and that was the only thing I cared about for Ariadne and me. If her mother wanted a big wedding, that was fine, so long as I get to be married to Ariadne afterwards.

"Ariadne!" We had reached the town and Luna was running towards us. Our last encounter had been less than pleasant. I hoped she had forgiven me by now.

"Hey, Luna." Ariadne answered. She tried to escape my grasp, but there was no way I was letting her go. Not after she had said 'yes' to me last night.

"I heard you guys are getting married!" She squealed. "What took you so long, Owen?"

"I had to find a diamond." I explained. It was clear she had forgiven me and for that, I was glad.

"A diamond?" She repeated. "What does that have to do with getting married?"

"Where I come from, a guy proposes to a girl by giving her a diamond ring." Ariadne explained.

"So you got her a ring?" She squealed again. "That's so sweet! Can I see?"

Grabbed Ariadne's hand and squealed when she saw the ring. I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride.

"It's so pretty! Why are guys here so cheap?" She asked.

"Luna!" Shelly's voice called from the Tailor's.

"Oops, I gotta get back to work." She waved and headed back inside. Well, now that that was over, I continued leading Ariadne to Town Hall.

"Hello!" Mayor Hamilton greeted us the moment we walked in. "I've been expecting you!"

Seemed like the news had already spread. And if the mayor knew, it wouldn't be long at all before everyone else did. He took a book out from under the counter and started flipping the pages.

"Do you have any thoughts on dates? Obviously, the church is free whenever you wish." He said.

"I thought a winter wedding would be nice." I don't know where that came from. I wanted to get married today. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it was important to Ariadne for her mother to help plan her wedding. The winter should give us enough time to pull something nice together.

"Yeah, sounds good." She smiled up at me.

"Hmm, Winter 4th is available." He pointed to a spot in the book. I was about to nod, when I saw Ariadne shaking her head.

"I don't think that will be enough time." She explained. I wanted to ask why, I really did. Winter 4th was almost three weeks away, surely that was enough time for her mother to plan a wedding? Hamilton didn't ask why not either, he just flipped to the next Saturday.

"The 11th is the Starry Night Festival. How about the 18th?" He looked up at us. I looked at Ariadne, not wanting to agree unless I knew she was okay with it. That was over a month of time to plan, if that wasn't enough…

"That sounds good to me!" She smiled up at me. I grinned.

"Then Winter 18th it is!" I nodded to Hamilton. He clapped his hands together.

"Wonderful!" He said. "I'll write it in."

"What do you want to do now?" She asked as we walked out.

"My Grandpa asked me to invite you over for lunch when we had decided on a date." I told her.

"Hey, that sounds great!" She answered with a smile. I wrapped my arm around her again and led her back up the mountain.

We ran into Luke, Dale and Bo on the way. The offered more congratulations and even told Ariadne they could give her an estimate to have her house upgraded. I didn't want to point out that I wasn't planning for us to live there anyway, but that was going to stay my secret for as long as I could keep it.

"Uh, that's okay, Dale, I think my house is big enough for the two of us." She answered with a small smile.

"But surely it won't be just the two of you for long, won't it?" Bo commented. I laughed and tightened my hold on her.

"Hopefully it won't be too long." I told him. If I had my way, there would be a baby by next Starry Night. We said goodbye and continued on to the Blacksmith's

"Well, maybe I will live to see my great-grandchildren." Gramps smiled as we walked in. He gave Ariadne a hug and the Chloe bounded out of what seemed like nowhere to hug Ariadne as well.

"You're getting married!" She squealed. "Can I be a flower girl?"

Ariadne chuckled. "I can't think of a better person to do the job."

"Yay!" Chloe hugged her again and scampered off to the kitchen where lunch was waiting.

"So, what day did you two decide on?" Gramps asked when we were all seated and digging into the food.

"Winter 18th." I answered.

"So long?" His smile fell just a bit.

"Well, my mother needs at least that to plan the wedding to her liking." Ariadne explained.

"Oh, it won't take nearly that long to plan a wedding." Gramps laughed. "The date's set, it won't be long before the whole island knows. There's only one church and one place who can cater and have the reception, you could have it tomorrow and everything would run smoothly!"

I noticed Ariadne's grimace and ignored it for the time being. I'd ask her about it later. I couldn't honestly understand why we had to wait so long, but I guess things were different in the city. I could hold out another season, she was worth it.

After lunch, we wandered back down to her farm, eager to have some time to ourselves. After all the excitement of the past 24 hours, it was nice to just lay down at the edge of her fields and relax.

"Owen?" She asked softly.

"Mmm?" I answered, a small smile on my face. I was just so content. I was over the fact that we would have to wait so long to get married. All that mattered was the woman beside me.

"Does everyone expect us to have kids right away?" She asked. I was not expecting that. I opened my eyes. She looked genuinely concerned.

"Don't you want kids?" I sat up and took her hand.

"Eventually." She replied. "But I'm only nineteen! At this point, I just want to be with you."

"I keep forgetting how different the island is from the city." I said, running my hands through my hair. "You see, people get married here really young. I mean really young, like, it's unusual that I'm not married and I'm only twenty-three. Most people are married by the time they're twenty-one. And it's because everyone here has known each other for their entire lives, everyone grew up together and knows each other inside-out. There's not much point in delaying getting married, and some people even think that there's nothing better to do than to get married and start having kids right away."

"I can understand that." She mused.

"I never really thought that I'd get married. I couldn't picture myself with anyone on the island. But then you came." I told her. Might as well be honest. She of all people deserved it, and it couldn't hurt my case. "And all of a sudden, the possibilities flooded through my mind and I started thinking about what it would be like to be with you for the rest of my life and to have children with you."

"Owen…" She paused.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about this first." I said quickly. I hadn't even thought of that before. This was just the way things were on Castanet, I kept forgetting she was used to something different.

"Owen," She said, "We're barely even engaged! When would we have had time to talk about this?"

"Well," I rubbed my thumbs on her hand. "I have time now."

"Then let's talk. So, do you want kids?" She asked.

"Of course." I answered quickly. "I love kids. I never thought I would have any of my own, so now that it's becoming a definite possibility, I'm really excited." I smiled at the thought, then I looked over at her. It was her decision too. "But I guess I should find out how you feel."

"I want kids." She replied. "Eventually, maybe not right away."

"When?" I asked without missing a beat.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "How about we wait a season after we get married, and then we'll talk about it again. Deal?"

"Deal." I smiled and kissed her cheek.

She let out a small sigh of contentment and lay back down in the long grass. There was still something else we hadn't talked about. Something that had my face flushing and heart racing at the mere thought.

"What about the part…" I hesitated, unsure of how to put this. "The part where we… where we make the baby?"

She grinned, her eyes remained closed.

"Oh that." She said softly. "I'm _really_ looking forward to that part."

"You are?" I exclaimed. Immediately I wished I could take the words back. But she giggled.

"Of course I am!" She opened her eyes and sat back up. "Aren't you?"

"Yes!" I said probably quicker than I should have. "I mean… I'm really looking forward to it too."

"Good." She giggled again.

"What are you giggling about?" I smiled. "This is no laughing matter."

"I'm just excited." She answered.

"Then why are you making me wait a whole season?" I groaned.

"Oh, Owen." She kneeled in front of me and kissed my forehead. "It's not that long. You'll make it, I know it."

"How can you be so sure?" I raised an eyebrow at her. She giggled again.

"I just know it." She repeated. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, if you say so."

An entire season. It was going to be agony.


	19. The Telephone

The next week, the telephone rang for the first time in years.

I never really understood why we had a phone. No one ever called. Everyone knew our hours and the services we offered, so people just dropped in. Gramps talked about getting rid of it every now and then, but it was always decided that it was a good thing to have in case of emergency. So the telephone stayed, but I could count on one hand the number of times it had rung in my lifetime.

So I was curious to find out who was calling.

"Hello?" Gramps was the one who answered, looking just as surprised as Chloe and I. He chuckled as I remembered he usually did when someone called. "Are you feeling okay, Ariadne?"

My heart stopped. I bolted out of my seat, knocking it over, and hurried over to Gramps.

"Give me the phone!" I demanded, my eyes were wide and I'm sure I looked as panicked as I felt. Gramps handed the telephone over, not looking nearly as worried for my fiancée he should have.

"Ariadne? Are you okay?" I asked, putting the phone to my ear. I had never actually used a telephone before, but I was pretty confident to how it worked.

"I'm fine." She answered. She sure sounded fine, even a bit amused to my reaction. Why was she calling if she was fine? Why didn't she just come up here to see me in person?

"What?" I asked. "What's going on? Why didn't you just come up to see me if you wanted to talk?"

"Um…" She paused, I didn't like not being able to see her face when she talked. This was weird. I decided I didn't like using the telephone. "My parents are here."

"What?" What on earth were her parents doing here this early? Unless this meant she wanted to move the wedding up… "But the wedding isn't until next season."

"I know, but my mother is under the impression that she's planning it, remember?" Right.

"Oh yeah." I sighed. My heart was still pounding.

"So, do you want to come down and meet them?" She asked.

"Yeah, definitely!" I agreed. Maybe that was why she called. She didn't want to leave her parents. "Um… give me two minutes, I'll be right there."

"Thanks." She said. I could hear the smile in her voice, but I still definitely preferred in-person communication.

"No worries." I told her. I was unsure of what to do next, when I think she hung up. There was an endless beep and I grimaced at the sound and placed the telephone back down on the cradle.

"What was that all about, boy?" Gramps asked.

"Her parents are here." I answered.

"And she couldn't come up here herself and tell you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, must be some kind of city thing." I shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going down to meet them."

"Good luck." Gramps called after me as I headed for the door.

Well, I hadn't been worried until he said that. It hit me then as I walked outside that I was meeting her parents. My future in-laws. What if they didn't like me? What if they thought this whole things was moving too fast and didn't want us to get married? Ariadne had told me that by city standards, we got engaged quickly. But she had also assured me that she loved me and thought we were doing the right thing.

But what if he parents didn't think so? My palms got sweaty as my feet somehow carried me down the mountain. Her parents were already out in the fields, looking out at the ocean where Ariadne and I sometimes did. Crap, that didn't give me much more time to prepare myself.

What if they were upset because I hadn't asked their permission before asking Ariadne to marry me? Kathy had said that was sometimes part of the tradition. I was a mess.

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Phillips." I called once I was close enough. They turned and stood up. To my relief, they were smiling.

"Please, it's Frank and Geraldine." Her mother said, extending her hand, I took it and shook it. "And you must be Owen. We've heard so much about you."

"Good things, I hope." I laughed nervously. She let go and Mr Phillips took my hand.

"Nothing but." Mrs Phillips replied. I know they said I could call them by their first names, but I was still incredibly nervous and wasn't ready to be quite so casual yet, even in my head.

"It's an honour to meet you." I said.

"It's an honour to meet the man who makes my daughter so happy." Mr Phillips said. That made me feel infinitely better. They had no plans to call off the wedding.

"It's probably more her who makes me happy than the other way around." I replied with a real smile this time.

"Well, in any case, it's nice to meet you, son." Mr Phillips clapped my shoulder. "And if half of what my daughter says is true, I'm happy to give you our blessing for your new life together."

"Thank you, sir!" I said maybe a bit too enthusiastically. But I was happy! Her parents liked me, and only because Ariadne liked me first. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off my chest.

"No need to be so formal, it's Frank and Geraldine. Mom and Dad even, if you don't mind. Ariadne told us you don't have any parents, but we're all family now." Frank clapped my shoulder again.

I hadn't even given much thought to meeting her parents. I guess I knew in the back of my mind that it had to happen someday, but I couldn't have imagined it going better. Geraldine and Ariadne wanted to spend the day planning the wedding. I hung around and offered my input when someone asked for it, but I really didn't care what everything looked like, what food we ate or what flowers we used. We were getting married, that was all I cared about.

The next day, I stopped by Town Hall before heading for Ariadne's to check out the listing for that old miner's cottage.

"What can I help you with, Owen?" Gill asked when I entered. Town Hall always freaked me out. It was so clean and orderly. I was neither. It seemed like even after I showered, there was still dirt under my fingernails or on my pant legs. I was scared I would break something or make a mess. I preferred sturdy, functional things, none of these fancy decorations.

"Um…" I was so preoccupied with not leaving boot prints, I almost forgot why I was there.

"Marriage license?" Gill prompted me.

"Right! I need that!" I exclaimed. I almost hit myself in the head. I would have completely forgotten about the marriage license. Good thing he reminded me. "But I actually came in to look at the listing for that old miner's cottage."

"Let me see if I can find it for you." He disappeared into the back room and emerged only a few moments later with a stack of papers and the mayor behind him.

"Gill tells me you're interested in the mountain house." Hamilton said, flipping through the papers Gill had put down on the desk. He found what he was looking for and pulled it free from the rest of the stack. "Now, the asking price is 100 000G, but considering it's technically already on your property, I think we can cut you a bit of a deal, hmm?"

"That would be really nice of you!" I exclaimed. 100 000G already seemed pretty reasonable to me, especially since it was an entire house.

"I can go down to 80 000G, how does that sound to you?" He asked.

"That sounds just great!" I nodded my head.

"I'll warn you though, it'll need a bit of fixing up before anyone can move in." Hamilton cautioned me.

"I know." I told him. 80 000 was better than I hoped for, and it left me with a comfortable amount to hire Luke, Dale and Bo to help fix it up.

"Alright!" Hamilton smiled and extended his hand. I shook it. I handed over the money and signed the paperwork and then the house was mine. Just like that! Hamilton handed me the key.

"I'd really appreciate it if you guys could keep this a secret." I told them. "It's kind of a wedding present for Ariadne."

"Your secret is safe with us!" Hamilton clapped his hands together.

"Oh! Speaking of which, how do I go about getting a marriage license?" I remembered.

"You definitely don't want to be forgetting about that!" Hamilton chuckled. "Gill can help you with the paperwork."

Gill pulled some more forms out from behind his desk. He handed me a pen and I filled them out. I paid a fee once I was done and then Gill handed me the official marriage license.

I left Town Hall feeling a lot better than I did when I went in. Now I had a house and a marriage license, two things I never thought I'd ever have.

I had a spring to my step and a giant grin on my face as I made my way back up the mountain. I headed straight for the carpenters and found Dale behind the counter and Luke working on some chiselling.

"Hey, lover boy, what's up?" Luke grinned over at me.

"Funny." I punched him in the arm.

"Why aren't you with Ariadne, you know, your fiancée?" Luke asked.

"Because I need to talk to you." I replied. "It's a business matter."

"Oh?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"I bought the old miner's cottage, you know, for Ariadne and me to live in, but it's not in the best shape." I explained.

"You want us to help fix it up?" Dale spoke up.

"I'll pay you!" I said quickly. "I mean, I want to hire you, but I want to help, too."

"Of course." Dale agreed. "How about we head up there right now and take a look. Then we'll figure out what needs to be done."

As it turned out, there wasn't much work to be done. I had never actually been inside before, but it wasn't so bad. A couple windows were cracked and needed to be replaced. The carpeting was old and rotting in some parts and the fridge looked like it was on its last legs. In the end, we decided to rip out the old carpeting and replace it with hardwood flooring and then went back to the shop to pick out some new furniture. After that, I went over to the general store to pick out some new appliances. I didn't go crazy, I figured Ariadne would have some things to move in.

I hesitated about buying a telephone. We never used it, but it was a good thing to have in case of emergencies. And Ariadne's safety meant more to me than my old-fashioned preferences, so I bought a telephone.

Between Ariadne's parents, planning the wedding, fixing up the house and spending alone time with Ariadne, the season flew by. We picked out our wedding rings together, that was one thing I definitely wanted to be a part of. Ariadne wanted a plain silver ring to match her engagement ring and I wanted a matching one, but she insisted that the gold suited me better. So I got an identical one to hers but in gold. And in my size.

Mira gave me the rings a few days before the wedding and I was struck again at the size difference between us. I could fit her ring inside mine with room to spare.

My thoughts had been drifting more and more occasionally to our wedding night. Especially after a rather uncomfortable talk with Dale when we were working on the house together a couple days before.

"Listen, Owen." Dale had said while we were putting the hardwood floor in. Luke had been there too. "Ramsey asked me to have a talk with you."

"About what?" I stopped my hammering and looked up at him. What would Gramps want Dale to tell me that he couldn't tell me himself?

"About your wedding night." He said, his voice was steady and he seemed surprisingly confident. Meanwhile, I, on the other hand, was already as red as a tomato.

"Dale, it's okay, I know how sex works." I assured him, hoping to put an end to what was sure to be an uncomfortable conversation before it even started.

"Well, for you, you do. But not for her." Dale explained. Goddess. I wanted to be anywhere but there. Luke was trying to hide his laughter. "You'd better listen up too, boy! You'll need to hear this eventually!" That shut him up. "You see, women are different from us. It takes a lot more for them to… finish. And it hurts them the first time you… go in."

"It does?" I asked, starting to panic all over again. I hadn't known that.

"Just the first time." Dale assured me. "But you need to know so you can be gentle. You'll want to keep going, but don't, it'll just hurt her more."

Maybe it was a good thing Dale was telling me this. The thought of hurting her was something I definitely did not want to do.

"Will she be okay after, you know… that first time?" I asked. The last thing I wanted was for her to end our wedding pain in pain. And I wouldn't be able to bear knowing I had been the cause of it.

"From what I hear, it's different for every woman. I've only ever been with my own wife, and it took her a while to recover after our wedding night." Dale explained.

"Ew, Dad!" Luke stuck his tongue out, his face contorted into an expression of disgust. "I don't wanna hear that!"

"It's sex, boy! Sex, sex, sex, grow up and get over it! It's perfectly natural and it's a good thing!" Dale raised his voice just a bit.

"What do you mean, a while?" I asked, oblivious to Luke's problems. "How long is a while? A couple minutes? Hours? Days?"

"She'll let you know." Dale told me. "Probably only a couple minutes. But after that, it'll be your job to make sure she finishes. Ariadne knows it'll hurt the first time, but she also won't be expecting to finish during your first time. It'll also be easier to get back into it the next night."

I was silent as I contemplated this. That was a lot of pressure to put on me for my wedding night. I was learning there were a lot of things I hadn't considered before getting engaged. I had been looking forward to my wedding night, and I knew Ariadne was too, but I didn't want to finish and leave her frustrated. I wanted our wedding night to be special for her too. I ran my hands through my hair.

"And don't try doing it more than once on the wedding night." Dale cautioned. "You'll want to, believe me you'll want to. But she'll be sore, and she'll be even sore the next morning, too."

I nodded and that was pretty much it. We went back to putting the floor in and discussing safer topics.

Now the bed was set up and I couldn't help but ponder over the fact that this would me _our_ bed. This was where I wanted to bring her for our wedding night. A bed that neither of us had slept in before. Sure, some of the quilts had been made by my grandmother before she died, but even the bedding was new.

I was so flustered. Gramps kept telling me to relax and that everything would be over in a few days. I knew deep down that things would never be the same again. This was a whole new part of my life and while I was so excited and could hardly wait for it to start, I was also more nervous than I've been in my entire life. I didn't want to let her down. I wanted to be able to provide for her and give her a home that she deserves.

I couldn't give her a lot of luxuries like someone from the city could have, but we would be comfortable. I made a good living and so did she. Whenever I felt like pulling my hair out because I wouldn't be able to give her many luxuries, I reminded myself that we loved each other. If what she told me was true, she loved me more than she could love anyone else, city guy or not. And I knew she had no reason to lie to me.

Before I even knew what was happening, I was kissing her goodnight before being dragged away to my bachelor party. The next time I saw her would be at our wedding, and that had me scared half to death.


	20. The Big Day

The bachelor party was okay, I guess. We just went to the bar and hung out like we usually did. Except this time, it wasn't just Gramps, Luke and me. A lot of other guys from around the island turned up, including Ariadne's two brothers-in-law. But not her father, and for that, I was grateful. The topic of conversation strayed only once from safe conversation, and I knew that Frank knew what Ariadne and I would be doing tomorrow night, but it would have been awkward.

I guess the thought was nice. It was nice to just hang out with the guys, even if people seemed to be getting a little more drunk than usual. To be honest, I was just ready for my life with Ariadne to start. I wouldn't really be missing my days as a bachelor, I was looking forward to being married to Ariadne and I couldn't wait for our wedding day tomorrow.

I couldn't sleep a wink that night, I was too excited. We didn't get back from the bar until quite early in the morning, but I still couldn't bring myself to sleep. I knew I would need my rest, but I just couldn't. Instead, I pulled sweatpants on over my shorts and Ariadne's sweater and went for a walk in the cool winter air. That was probably a bad idea. The cold kept me even more awake, but I didn't want to head to bed just yet, I was too restless.

Would I be able to provide for her? Would I be able to give her the life she wanted? The life she _needed_? Maybe it was a bad idea buying the house without asking her first, it was kind of far from her farm, and I knew she loved the farm. But worst of all, what if she changed her mind at the last minute and didn't show up at the church in the morning? That thought had me ready to explode with worry, and I knew I wouldn't be able to relax until Perry pronounced us man and wife.

I finally went back in as the sun started to rise, I was grateful when I heard Gramps starting to stir, I didn't know how much longer I could be alone with my thoughts.

"You're up early." Gramps commented as he walked into the kitchen to put the coffee on.

"Never really went to sleep." I answered honestly.

"That nervous, huh?" He took a seat opposite from me at the table.

I only nodded. He offered me a smile.

"It'll be okay, boy." He told me.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because I've seen the way she looks at you. It's the same way your grandmother looked at me, and we were married almost fifty years. She'll be there, you have to give her more credit than that." Gramps said.

"You're right." I looked away, suddenly a bit ashamed. I should trust Ariadne a bit more. I knew she would never leave me high and dry. Maybe it was just pre-wedding nerves, I had never been more nervous in my life before I met her. Maybe once everything was official, I would be able to relax a bit more.

Luke showed up shortly after and helped himself to a cup of coffee.

"How're you feeling, man?" He asked me after downing his first cup and pouring a second.

"I just want to get this over with." I answered, running my hands through my hair. "Why couldn't we have done something simple at Town Hall a season ago?"

"But today's the day! Only a couple more hours to go!" Luke raised his coffee mug to me before taking a gulp. "Wow, you're a wreck."

"You think?" I said, maybe a little louder than I should have. Luke only laughed.

"You think too much, man." He told me, finishing off his coffee with one more gulp. "Well, I need to get going. I was only making sure Owen was awake and picking up the rings."

"Oh, right, the rings!" I got up and hurried to my room to retrieve them. I handed them to Luke.

"She'll be there." He told me as he got up. "Even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming, she'll be there."

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that!" I said. Luke laughed again.

"It won't! I'm only teasing! Geez, I don't like uptight-and-anxious-Owen, when will relaxed-and-carefree-Owen be back?" He said.

"Just as soon as she says 'I do' I'm sure." Gramps chuckled.

At this point, I really didn't care what they were saying or thought of me. I desperately wanted to go down into the mines and try to relieve some of this stress, but I knew I didn't have the time. It was already 7:00, and the wedding was supposed to start at 10:00, and I was going to help get the church ready before getting dressed.

"I'll go wake Chloe up." Gramps said. "You should try to eat something, you look like you're going to be sick."

I grunted in reply and mechanically headed for the counter. I put some bread in the toaster and pressed the plunger down. Moments later, there was a high-pitched squeal. I turned around just in time to catch Chloe as she launched herself on me. I cracked a smile.

"You're getting married! Today! You're getting married today! Today's the day!" She yelled in my ear. I had to laugh. It felt so good, I could feel myself relaxing as she squirmed in my arms and screamed in my ear. "I'm going to be a flower girl!"

"Slow down!" I laughed, holding her in front of me. "We have time."

The toast popped and I put her back down. She hit the ground running. I busied myself buttering the toast. As soon as I was done, she returned with her dress on.

"Wow, you're all set and ready to go!" I commented, taking a bite out of the toast.

"Hurry, Owen, hurry!" She was still running around the house.

"Chloe," I blocked her path and scooped her up again. "It's okay! We have time! There's still three hours until the wedding."

"Oh." She hung still in my arms. "That's forever!"

I laughed again. "How about we find you some breakfast."

I put her down and she hurried up onto a chair at the kitchen table. I poured her a bowl of cereal and she ate it slower than I've ever seen eat before. Normally, I was the only one who could eat faster than her, and that was after a full day's work. Then I realized she was wearing her dress. She didn't want to get it dirty.

Gramps rejoined us and made his own breakfast.

"Look at this, our last breakfast as a family." He mused as he sat down. Chloe froze.

"Oh no!" She put her hands to her face. "Owen, you won't be eating breakfast with us anymore!"

She looked close to tears. I didn't know what to say. It was true, I wouldn't be eating very many meals with them anymore.

"That's right…" I started, "But it doesn't mean we're not still a family! If anything, we'll be an even bigger family. And I'll still come down for dinner sometimes. I'll only be living just up the stairs, remember? Things won't be so different, I just won't be living here anymore."

"I'm going to miss you, Owen." Chloe got up from her seat and hugged my leg.

"Hey, I'm not leaving forever! You can still see me whenever you want." I told her.

"Promise?" She asked, looking up at me with those big, blue eyes.

"Promise." I told her.

With that settled, we finished breakfast and then headed down to the church to help set up. I didn't tell Chloe to change and neither did Gramps. This was a special day for her too, if she wanted to wear her dress all day, who were we to stop her? I could tell she was being extra careful not to get it dirty.

Before I knew it, it was time to head back home and get dressed. The nervousness had returned knowing that when I was back in this church, it would be my wedding.

I never owned a suit before. There was never any reason to wear one. When I went to the tailors to get fitted for one, Luna had tried to sell me a tuxedo. I knew that was definitely going to be way too formal and there would never be another chance for me to wear it. We finally agreed on a plain, brown suit. Formal enough for a wedding, but not too formal for a Castanet wedding.

Luke came over once he was dressed and I soon discovered that I had no idea how to tie a tie. I was just about to give up in desperation when Gramps came to the rescue and helped me out. By then, we were starting to run late and had to hurry to get to the church, which was nice because it didn't give me much more time to freak out.

"I'm going to get Ariadne." Luke clapped my shoulder before he hurried out. "Don't worry, she'll be here, kicking and screaming or not."

I sighed and collapsed into the front pew. All around me, people were chatting excitedly. It wasn't often that there was a wedding on the island, so when we had one, everyone was excited. But I wasn't paying attention. My thoughts were creeping back and I was starting to worry all over again.

"You look like you're about to be sick." I looked up. Ariadne's father was standing in front of me. I hadn't even noticed him come over. "Not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No, sir, of course not!" I answered him quickly.

"Then what's up?" He took a seat beside me. I sighed. I didn't even know how to put how I was feeling into words. "Worried she won't show?"

"Kind of…" I replied.

"Don't be." He said quickly. "I know my own daughter and I know for a fact that she loves you more than I ever knew she could love anything. She'd be foolish not to marry you, and she knows that. What else is bothering you?"

"It's just…" His response made me feel a bit better, but there was still so much gnawing at my insides. "I know she's used to a different way of living, a more comfortable life, and I don't think I can give that to her."

"Owen, look at me." He said. I looked at him. "When you truly love someone, the little things don't matter. It doesn't matter where you live, how you live or how much money you make. I know you'll take good care of my daughter, you'll work hard to provide for her. I have no doubts about that, so why should you?"

At that point, Luke appeared next to us.

"She's here." He said, a giant smile on his face. "Man, you should see her! She's nearly as nervous as you are!"

"Is she?" I asked. Luke and Frank both laughed. Frank got up and clapped my shoulder.

"Told you everything would be fine." He said. Luke laughed again.

"We've been telling him that since he met her!" He said. Frank smiled.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to bring her to you." He said and then walked back up the aisle.

"C'mon, man, show time!" Luke grinned. I grinned back. Between that talk with my future-father-in-law and the fact that Ariadne was here, I was feeling infinitely better. I jumped up with excitement. This was my wedding day. In less than an hour, I would be married to the most wonderful woman on the planet.

I stood up at the front of the church with Luke, Gramps and Perry beside me and the music started.

Chloe and Ariadne's niece Fran walked down the aisle first, and then Luna and Renee. This was already so unlike any Castanet wedding I had ever been too. There weren't usually bridesmaids, or even strictly flower girls. But I didn't care at that point. I was bouncing on the balls of my feet. I just wanted to see Ariadne. Once Luna and Renee had taken their seats, the doors at the back of the church opened again.

There she was.

It took me a moment to realize my mouth had dropped open, and I hurried to shut it. I grinned. She was stunning. I couldn't believe she was here to marry me, of all people. How did I ever get so lucky? She was smiling softly behind her veil as her father led her to me. I held my hand out for her as she approached, as if it would make her get here faster, and eventually she did.

"I love you. You look gorgeous." I whispered into her ear as he father gave me her hand.

"I told you I'd come." She whispered back. I grinned.

Perry started talking. Something about the importance and sanctity of marriage, I really couldn't tell you. As soon as Ariadne entered the room, I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I just wanted him to get to the important part.

"Do you, Owen Callum Ferguson take this woman to be your wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?" He finally asked me.

"I do." I grinned and gave Ariadne's hands a squeeze. I hadn't realized I was holding both of them. I must have done it without realizing it.

"And do you, Ariadne Athena Philips take this man to be your husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?" He turned to Ariadne.

"I do." Her voice waivered and her eyes were wet. I gave her another squeeze. Almost there.

"The rings, please." Perry looked at Luke.

Luke stepped forward, pulled the rings out of his pocket and handed them to Perry.

"Owen, please repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness." Perry turned back to me.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness." I said, taking her ring from Perry. I slipped her diamond ring off and put on the wedding band. I smiled. Her hand looked good with my wedding band on it.

"As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you." Perry continued. I blinked. Good thing I caught what he said, I really hadn't been paying attention.

"As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you." I said and slipped the diamond ring back on her finger.

"Ariadne, please repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness."

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness." Ariadne said and took the other ring from Perry and put it on my finger.

"As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you." Perry continued

"As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you." She repeated. I took both of her hands in mine, paying careful attention not to squeeze too hard. My heart was thumping in my chest and I was grinning like a fool.

"By the power vested in me," Perry said. So close now... any second. "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."

I could have jumped for joy and shouted, but I didn't I tried so hard, and I didn't. We were married! She was my wife! My wife, I really liked the sound of that. I was grinning so hard, I knew there was no way I could kiss her properly. I held her upper arms, bent down and kissed her.

"Family and friends of Owen and Ariadne," Perry began, "I present to you for the first time, Mr and Mrs Owen and Ariadne Ferguson."

There was applause and whistles and I even heard a whoop from Luke as we came out of the kiss. I liked the sound of Mrs Ferguson, too. It would be a while until I could call her Ariadne again, I liked the sound of my name and hers together too much.

"No turning back now." She said soft enough so only I could hear. I grinned even wider and kissed her on the cheek.

"You'd better believe it." I wanted to scoop her up and run back up the aisle, but I didn't. Instead, I offered her my arm and we walked back outside together.


	21. Hot Chocolate

**A/N: Hey all, just a heads-up for those of you that have read I Want to Protect You, I recently updated Chapter 22: I Want to Protect You so this chapter will follow that one, just in case there's any confusion. Enjoy!**

The reception seemed to drag. I mean, I'm sure the reception itself was a lot of fun, but I couldn't tell you what we ate, what songs we danced to or how many people made sexual innuendos. I just wanted to be alone with my wife. I had to hold my watch up to my ear on more than one occasion to make sure it was still ticking.

Finally, we did the garter toss, the last scheduled event and the time I promised myself I could carry my bride away.

"Last dance." I told Luke, who was playing the songs. He nodded with a wink and played the last song.

I held Ariadne close to me, as I had been doing all day long. I still couldn't believe she was mine. She was my wife. I wasn't about to let her go in a hurry.

"Have I told you that you look beautiful?" I whispered in her ear. She giggled.

"Only about eleven times." She whispered back.

"Well, it's an even dozen now." I replied. She laughed again and moved her head from my shoulder to look me in the eyes.

"I can't believe you're my husband now." She said, resting her forehead on my chest.

"You'd better, I'm not planning on changing that anytime soon. Or ever." I rested my chin on top of her head.

"Good." She said. I smiled and held her just a bit tighter until the song ended.

"Are you ready?" I looked down at her. She grinned and nodded. I grinned right back and scooped her up into my arms.

The group of people parted to give us a clear shot to the door and I walked us out. I wanted to run, Goddess, I wanted to run away with her and keep her by my side forever, but I kept myself in check, smiled and thanked everyone for coming until we made it outside and the door shut behind us.

"You can put me down now." She said.

"I don't think so." I smiled down at her. There was no way I was putting her down, already, I was speeding up, trying to get to our destination as soon as I could without seeming too eager. She laughed.

"No really, you don't have to carry me." She insisted.

"I know, but I want to. Just let me." I replied. She seemed to surrender because she pulled herself closer to me.

"Alright, I won't complain." She said.

We continued on in silence. I didn't really know what to say, I was too excited. She was mine and I had been looking forward to our wedding night since before we were engaged, and no it was here. I didn't even notice that we passed the path to Ariadne's farm until she pointed it out.

"You missed it!" She tugged on my shirt. "I live over there, remember?"

"I know." I said, not even slowing down. No way was I slowing down now. I had been too focussed on the destination that I had forgotten Ariadne thought we were going to her farm.

"Where are you taking me, Owen?" She asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see." I continued on. We were so close, well, halfway. Just had to climb the mountain.

"We're not going back to your house, are we?" She asked, her tone slightly nervous. Oh man, I hadn't even thought of that!

"Goddess, no!" I assured her quickly. "Gramps wouldn't appreciate that!"

"Then where are we going?" I asked again with a small laugh.

"I told you, you'll have to wait and see." I chuckled. I heard her sigh and I smiled. I was determined for this to be a surprise. To be honest, after I told her we weren't going back to my old place, I was surprised she hadn't guessed it right away. In fact, it wasn't until we reached the blacksmith's and I continued on the stairs that she caught on.

"Owen! That house…" She exclaimed. She sounded upset and I started panicking again. Didn't she like it?

"I thought you liked it!" I asked.

"I do!" She explained quickly. "I love this house!"

"That's good." I relaxed and continued climbing the stairs to the front door. "Because I bought it."

She was silent for a second.

"You bought a house? Why?" She seemed so surprised. I guess it was a pretty big surprise. I laughed.

"For us to live in!" I kicked open the door open and carried her inside.

"You didn't have to!" She went on. "My farm would have been big enough."

"But we've had so many good times up here," I explained, looking down into her beautiful face. "As soon as I had the idea, I couldn't picture us living anywhere else. I wanted us to have a place of our own, you know? Somewhere we could create our own life."

"I love you." She said. I grinned.

"I think I love you more." I told her and kissed her. "But I'm a little nervous." I nodded towards the bed.

"So am I." She replied. "I've never done this before."

"Neither have I. We don't have to tonight if you don't want to." I told her, praying with all I had that she would want to.

"No!" She said quickly to my relief. "I want to."

"How about a cup of hot chocolate first?" I suggested, she _did_ seem really nervous, and if there was anything I could do to calm her down, I would do it. "I'm a little chilled after being outside."

"That sounds really nice." She replied. I kissed her forehead and reluctantly put her down on her own two feet. "I'm just going to change first if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all." I said quickly. It _was_ pretty cold in here. It would probably be easier for her if it were a bit warmer in here. I went to the empty fireplace first and started building a fire. I heard the bathroom door close and before long, I had a decent fire crackling away.

With the cottage nice and warm, I shed my jacket and tie. The tie had been killing me since I put it one. I undid a few buttons to give my trachea room to get air into my lungs.

I had just finished fixing the hot chocolate when she emerged in her pyjamas and a hoodie. She smiled softly and made her way back to me. I handed her a mug and led her to the couch in front of the fire.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. Now I was feeling nervous. I finally had her alone, and I didn't have a clue how to transition into bed.

"I'm excited." She replied. "A little nervous though."

I chuckled. At least we were on the same page, even if it was for different reasons. "I'm a little nervous too. But excited, Goddess I'm excited."

She chuckled and took a sip from her mug.

"Mmm. Have I ever told you that you make a mean hot chocolate?" She asked me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her to me. She relaxed into me like she always did and I smiled.

"Once or twice." I answered. Now, how to change the subject, I didn't want to freak her out, but I was pretty impatient to get her into bed with me. "It's so nice to finally have you to myself."

She laughed. "You've had me to yourself pretty much since I moved here."

"You know what I mean." I replied, hoping she _would_ know what I meant. My loins hardened when she snuggled a bit closer.

"It's nice having you to myself, too." She said. Goddess, I hoped that meant what I thought it meant.

"Good, because that's the way it's going to be for a while know if I have anything to say about it." I told her.

"I think I'd like that." She answered. Oh man. I couldn't wait much longer. Maybe if I finished my drink she would hurry up. I took a big gulp. And then another and my drink was gone. I placed the empty mug on the coffee table.

"Are you finished already?" She turned to face me. Grinned sheepishly.

"What can I say? I'm excited." I told her, confident that my cheeks were burning.

My heart jumped when she leaned in and kissed me. I was quick to grab her waist and hold her there, so scared she would change her mind.

"Are you ready?" I whispered when we pulled apart, reluctantly on my part, but I was anxious to move this to the bed. She nodded and I felt myself harden even more. I didn't waste another second before I scooped her back up and carried her to the bed. I placed her down and pulled my socks off before joining her.

"I still can't believe you're my wife." I whispered.

"Forever and ever." She grinned. I couldn't help but smiled back.

"You're so cheesy." I told her.

"Oh yeah?" She asked. Goddess, I couldn't wait any longer.

"I think we should stop talking." I suggested and leaned in to kiss her and hold her waist to me again.

"Mmm." I heard her moan her agreement. I fingered the hem of her hoodie and she didn't hesitate to help me get her out of it.

I moved to her collarbone and kissed my way around her skin. I moaned at the taste of her skin, like honey and cinnamon. I heard her sigh. Good, she was enjoying herself so far. I wondered if she could feel how hard I was now, because I was certainly enjoying myself.

I reached under her shirt and heard her sharp intake of breath as I grazed her breasts. Goddess, they were so full and soft, I wanted the shirt off too so I could see them and fully appreciate them. She had other ideas, I could feel her fingers on the buttons of my shirt. I tried to be patient as she worked at the buttons, I really did, but I couldn't stand it any longer. I chuckled softly and took over.

I swung a leg over her to straddle her and closed my eyes as she ran her hands across my now naked chest. Her small, soft hands felt so good on my chest. I tried to be still and patient as she explored, but if there was one thing I was learning about myself tonight, it was that I wasn't very patient when it came to being physical with her. At least this first time. I bent down and started kissing her again.

I fisted the hem of her top and she seemed to understand that it was next. She helped get it off and my eyes widened at what I had exposed. Her skin went pink all the way to her breasts and I saw her nipples harden. I wanted to touch, but I didn't know how she would feel about that. She had sounded almost pained when I accidently touched them earlier. I looked back into her eyes. She only nodded and I took that as my go-ahead. I reached with both hands and cup a breast in each. Goddess, she felt so good. She gasped again and the sighed at the contact. I relaxed. She liked it. I kneaded them and was pleased with the moan she let out. I squeezed harder, keeping my eyes on her expression. She lifted her chest to give me a bigger handful. Her breasts were so perfect, they fit into my hands so perfectly, it was almost as if they were made for each other.

Goddess, I needed her and I needed her now. It felt like all the blood in my body was in my loins, my pants were too tight, so I let go of her beautiful chest to undo them and throw them to the ground with the rest of our clothes.

I climbed back on and locked our lips once again, pressing my chest to hers. She was so breathless, I hoped that was a good sign. I lowered my hips to hers, hoping that she would somehow understand that I couldn't hold out much longer. I needed to be inside her. Cried out as I thrust into her hips and lifted her hips to meet me. Thank the Harvest Goddess, I grabbed blindly at her shorts and pulled them down, praying I would get her underwear too. I wasn't wasting any more time. To my surprise, I got them both and threw them to the ground before pulling my own shorts down and off.

She looked down at me and her eyes widened. I felt brief moment of self-consciousness. I don't know what she was expecting. I didn't know what was normal, Goddess, I had never done this before. All I knew was that I needed to be inside her _now. _

I brought myself to her entrance and it took all I had not to push in right then and there. She was so warm and wet and inviting.

"Are you ready?" I breathed. At her word, I would make her mine in the last way possible.

"Mmm." She moaned. I took that as a 'yes' and pushed inside with a single thrust.

Then it was my turn to moan. Goddess, she felt so good. She squeezed me so tight and warm, I wanted to stay in her forever, but there was an animalistic urge to keep thrusting as hard and fast as I could. I had felt something break when I pushed in, I hoped this was what Dale had said would make this uncomfortable for her. She gasped when I thrust in.

"Are you okay?" I looked into her eyes and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, Goddess." She moaned. "Just keep going."

Thank the Harvest Goddess, that was all I needed before I pulled out and thrust in again and again. I wanted to go faster and harder, but not too much. I knew this was all for her too and the last thing I wanted was to hurt her again. But she soon started matching each thrust and I groaned as I kept going, building towards my climax.

I felt her small hands at my back. I was so close, but I knew I had to hold out until she finished first. I prayed it wouldn't be longer, I was too close and she felt too good. I could feel her tightening on me and I hoped that meant she was getting close.

"Owen!" She let out a strangled gasp. Thank the Goddess. I hoped that meant what I thought it did.

"I know, I'm close too." I told her.

Moments later, she cried out and I felt her nails in my back. Her eyes squeezed shut and she writhed under me. Not a moment too soon, I let myself go in sweet release, emptying myself into her with a loud moan.

And then, it was over.

I groaned in satisfaction that I had never felt in my entire life collapsed on the bed beside her.

"Did I hurt you?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"Just for a second." She answered. "Goddess, that was so amazing. I love you."

I smiled and wrapped my arms back around her to hold her naked, sweaty body to mine. "I love you too."

We laid there for a couple moments, catching out breath and holding each other. After a minute, I reluctantly let her go and got out of bed to get some clothes. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that the fire wouldn't last all night and we would be appreciative of some clothes in the morning. I tossed her her pyjamas and rummaged through the drawers for a clean pair of boxers.

"You're so sweet." She said, settling herself under the covers. I grinned and joined her after I pulled my boxers on.

"You're not too sore?" I asked her, dragging her hips to mine.

"I'm fine, babe." She assured me. "Just hold me."

"I'd be happy to." I told her. She smiled softly and snuggled into me. I cradled her head to my chest and waited for her breathing to become slower and deeper as she drifted off to sleep.


	22. Pack?

I woke up the next morning to the most wonderful thing in the world: My wife in my arms. I let out a contented sigh and pulled her a bit closer, just because I could. She was so soft and warm, it was hard to resist. I breathed in her honey and cinnamon scent and I could feel myself getting hard. Well, harder, I woke up hard.

After a few moments of internal debating on whether or not I should wake her or whether or not it was a good idea to see if she wanted to get into round two after Dale told me that it wouldn't be a good idea, I felt her start to stir in my arms. She stretched slightly and then recoiled quickly. I smiled. She wasn't used to sharing a bed yet. Little did she know, I had been dreaming of the day when I could wake up with her in my arms for weeks.

She relaxed a moment later and snuggled in closer. Oh man, I could feel myself get even harder. It was only a matter of time before she felt it. That is, if she couldn't already. I felt her hands on mine, she was twisting my wedding band. Then she my hand up to her mouth and kissed it. I swallowed back a groan and decided to 'wake up'.

"You're awake." I said, getting up and straddling her, bringing my face up to hers. Goddess, she looked so beautiful with her dark curls splayed out on the pillow around her head and her eyes bright and refreshed from sleep. "Good morning, love."

"Good morning." She smiled sleepily up at me. I kissed her. I had to try so hard to pull away again. One thing that I knew I was going to love about being married was the fact that kissing her could be one of the first things I did every morning. That among other things I hoped to instigate this very morning if she was willing…

"How are you feeling?" I asked her, remembering exactly why Dale had said she wouldn't want to this morning.

"I'm fine." She told me. I wanted to be sure, I looked don her body for any sign of pain or discomfort and had to keep from yelling out loud at the dark spot that looked suspiciously like blood on the sheets.

"There's blood." I pointed to it.

"Um… yeah." She looked away, she almost seemed… embarrassed? For what, I couldn't imagine. If she was hurt, that definitely wasn't anything to be embarrassed about. Especially if I was the one who hurt her! "That just means that I'm not a virgin anymore."

"Oh." I guess that made sense. It felt like I had torn something inside her last night, blood made sense. At least it was only a bit. I smiled again and dipped back down to take her lips with mine.

She made me feel things I had never felt before, and I was only too eager to feel the pleasure I had felt in her arms last night again. Especially now that I knew she wasn't too sore from it. Goddess, I still couldn't believe she was mine forever. I started kissing down her neck and nuzzled her shoulder and collar bone, hoping she would get the message.

"What time is it?" She asked, a little breathless. I groaned. I knew by the way the sun was shining through the window that it was pretty late I the morning. I also knew that we had lunch plans with her family that would hinder any chances of me getting anywhere. But she was my wife, I had to be honest.

"Almost noon." I told her.

"We have to meet my family for lunch before they go back home." To my utter shock, she hit herself in the head. I grabbed her hand quickly.

"Don't do that." I said. Maybe I could still salvage the situation. I bent down and kissed her again. But it seemed like no matter how hard I tried, her thoughts were elsewhere. I sighed and broke off, leaning my forehead against hers.

"It's not much." I sat up after a minute and gestured to the house. I realized I hadn't given her an official tour yet and I knew it was sparsely furnished. "But I figured we could divide the upper floor into rooms. You know, for when we have kids."

"It's perfect." She smiled and sat up to kiss me again. I grinned. Maybe my cause wasn't a lost one after all. I placed a hand on the small of her back and the other on her cheek and gently forced her back down to the bed. "Owen! We have to go meet my parents!" She giggled, pushing me away.

"How are you thinking of your parents at a time like this?" I asked. I certainly wasn't thinking of our lunch plans.

"Oh, Owen. It's not that I don't want to do it." She told me. "If I'm honest, I'm still a bit sore from the first time."

"Oh no! Is it bad?" I instantly felt terrible. If I would have known, I would never have initiated any of this!

"I'll be fine by tonight, promise." She said. She seemed sincere, and I prayed that it would be true.

"Phew, that's a relief." I smiled softly and kissed her one last time and pulled away quickly. I couldn't trust myself around her. I climbed out of bed to remove the temptation, or at least part of it. I busied myself with the chest of drawers and found some clothes for the day.

She followed me after stretching herself out on the bed. I had to look away, otherwise I was sure the now diminished bulge in my shorts would become more pronounced again.

I showed her where her clothes were and dressed quickly. She took her time and I distracted myself with making coffee in the kitchen.

"What do you think I should pack?" She called over.

"Pack?" I asked. She laughed.

"Yeah, you know, for our honeymoon? We're leaving this afternoon?" She elaborated.

"Yeah, I know." I assured her. "I just didn't think you'd want to bring any clothes."

"Why wouldn't I want to bring clothes?" She slowly made her way over to me, cocking an eyebrow with a small smile on her face.

"Because… you know… it's our honeymoon… and we'll have the island all to ourselves…" I explained. I was teasing, and she knew it, I could tell by the way the smile on her face was growing. I closed the distance between us, grabbed her hips and pulled her into me.

"You're crazy." She kissed my cheek.

"I'm a newly married man." I corrected her. She threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh, well, excuse me! I didn't know there was a difference." She replied. I smiled and held her a bit closer. "Oh, stop it!" She smacked me playfully. "Tell you what, I won't bring any pyjamas."

"Deal." I agreed.

"Good!" She wriggled free. "Now drink your coffee, we have to meet my parents!"

I sighed and sipped my mug while watching her throw things into her bag. One thing was for sure, I couldn't wait for tonight.

**A/N: Sorry this is a bit short, the next one is going to be from Ariadne's POV and I didn't want to mix them up in the same chapter.**


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